Unspoken
by simple.shawn
Summary: Ichigo hides a painful secret from the world, and Grimmjow offers him a chance to move past it to extend his potential but the challenge is helping Ichigo realize his worth before its too late. AU, yaoi, swearing, violence, slight OOC.
1. Interview Number One

_Did you know that 40% of all victims of severe, physical domestic violence are men in heterosexual relationships? Sure, the media covers the females being cast as the majority of the victims, but who speaks for the men who are trapped in abusive relationships?_

_In a separate study 63% of men were assaulted and or threatened with a deadly weapon by their partners during arguments. _

_The number's don't lie._

_It's not easy to just retaliate when you're ten times stronger than your lover because if anyone were to be called, you would be considered the wrong one. Even if the police were called or you left to seek help, you would be looked at as an embarrassment, a disgrace, less than a man, or a joke._

_The best thing to do is stay and hope with everything you've got that the abuse will stop before things go to far. Besides, as a man you should be able to handle just about anything your woman throws at you and then some. Whether its belittling insults, spiritual assaults, financial dominance, a few choke holds, or even a knife every once and a while, you hold your head up high and take it simply because of the love you have for her. That's what it comes to you love her. _

_You are a man. You are strong. You can handle this. _

_Can't you?_

* * *

The quiet melody of the mom and pop restaurant jingled in his ear while his fingers impatiently tapped at the plywood table as he waited for his order – rephrase that – _her _order to be called. A breakfast burrito with tomatoes, eggs, cheese, green pepper, and bacon with an orange juice and fried hash browns. The perfect breakfast for a hangover. It's not good to go out and party, get drunk, and come home waking up in your vomit _every single night_, but then again she's young and beautiful so what's the real harm in it?

"Number 148 your order is ready, number 1-4-8 your order is ready."

He nearly jumped out of his seat as his order was finally called, though he did run up to the counter to grab the brown, greasy, paper bag with the small carton of Minute Maid orange juice.

"Arigato!" He spoke in a rush, before jogging out of the restaurant and toward the general direction of his condo.

Wearing pajama pants and a thermal long-tee in ninety-eight degree weather wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing to do, but it was for her; she needed it. The sun was soaking through his clothes, and already he was beginning to sweat. His bright orange bangs lowered to cover his eyes as they got damp with sweat as well. One of his maroon eyes closed as the salty sting of the perspiration managed to get in; he brought his wrist up the fluid away, then took the time to check his watch.

"Shit!"

_He was gone too long._

He brought the bag against his chest and began to flat-out sprint; he didn't have much time left. Taking two lefts, running through a crosswalk without having any regard to the oncoming car, cutting through some grass, and a sharp left turn he finally made it toward the complex of rather expensive looking condos. Giving gate security a look of anxiousness, they opened up the gates for him and he quickly sped through. Just because he made it through didn't mean he would stop running, he continued his crusade until he finally made it to building 767.

His home.

He panted softly as walked to the door, opening it with a wave of relief washing over him. He made it back in record time. He kicked the door closed, sat his girlfriend's order down on the coffee table and made his way to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. It atmosphere of silence deeply disturbed him; Rukia wasn't one to just lay quietly if she had a hangover. As he crossed the threshold of the kitchen the slight uneasiness hit his stomach and progressed to it completely twisting into knots at what he saw.

"Rukia what're ya doin' outta bed?" He spoke, all of his strength managing to just seep from his body.

The raven haired female finished snorting a bit of cocaine from her fingernails, sealing the small baggy then concealing the white powder into her small cleavage thereafter. Her large plum eyes were glassy, and the pupils dilated; her chapped lips curving into a twisted grin.

He hated that grin. He hated the way her eyes looked. He hated when she was high.

"The real question is what's her name Ichigo?" Her tone was low, and nonchalant but Ichigo knew how dangerous it was meant to be. He didn't know how to answer so he just looked at her, his eyebrows furrowing up on his forehead.

"Answer me!" She yelled her small fist slamming down on the table.

He took a deep breath, and kept his composure he wasn't going to make things worse. "There is no 'her'. I _just_ came back from getting your food."

"So you think I'm stupid? It doesn't take thirty fucking minutes to get to from here to Sakura's and back on foot."

According to Google Maps, it took about forty five minutes to get there and back on foot. Ichigo had to break a lot of rules just to make it back when he did, but he wouldn't dare say something as bold as that. Not when Rukia was like this.

"There were other people waiting in line, and I know you like your food freshly made so that took a little while too. Rukia, please I promise I just went there and back."

"Okay fine, where's the receipt and change?"

_Fuck._

"I told the cashier I wouldn't need it, and I let her keep the change. It was only a few yen anyway."

Her eyes narrowed and soon she was up out of her seat, Ichigo's heart went up into his throat and his heartbeat thumped in his ears. She came toe-to-toe with him, and looked down at her nails before talking again.

"I get it. You're putting it in your secret account so you can leave me. But that's not going to happen because no one else wants, needs, or will treat you as well as I do.

_B__uotoko._

What kind of woman wants children with someone who has red hair?"

Ichigo lowered his gaze to the ground, rubbing the back of his neck. She was probably right, hell she was his first and only girlfriend he had ever had. It may have been true, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Please...stop. You don't mean what you're saying."

He spoke timidly, as he brought his eyes up to hers. Instantly after he spoke, she brought a knee to his crotch making him fall to the ground in a pained grunt. His hands went down to hold his assaulted manhood as his teeth clenched.

"You are so pathetic. Heh, I actually believe you. There is no 'her' and even if there was, your tiny cock wouldn't do anything to satisfy her. You can't leave me, no matter how much money you save up in you 'secret' account you'll always come crawling back.

And my food better not be cold either."

She stepped over his hunched over body, and into the living room grabbing her meal and heading upstairs to the bedroom. With the loud slam of the bedroom door, he knew that it was safe for him to get up.

Ichigo swallowed back the tears that stung his eyes, whether she meant it or not hearing that from someone you love still hurt. Being attacked like this, was the norm whenever she decided to get high. She was never terrible to him until she started using.

He shakily stood up, walked to the silver chrome freezer grabbing a back of frozen mixed vegetables. After bringing the baggy between his legs he sat down at the table. His throat hurt, and a bit dry as he swallowed. In all honesty he forgot the one thing he went into the kitchen to get; a simple glass of water from running one point two miles in less than ten minutes.

They had been together a total of four years and up to this point there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he was hopelessly in love with Rukia Kuchiki. She moved to Karakura Town with her sister Hisana for her last year of high school – that's when they met, and eventually started dating. Hisana was terminally ill and couldn't take being away from Byakuya Kuchiki for long periods of time, so they moved in with him.

Byakuya's father held stocks in just about every business in Karakura Town, so when the man croaked all that money went to Byakuya. He invested it solely in his business, of helping people advise their income and responsibly spend or save it. When Hisana passed away, Byakuya claimed Rukia as his sister, and for legal purposes had her last named changed to his own granting her access to his fortune in the matter of a trust fund.

Ichigo was never in the relationship for the money, he fell in love with Rukia because of how strong, caring, and beautiful that spirit she was. No matter what the situation was she would try to help him and so often she would even get him out of quite a bit of trouble. There was no one he could have ever met that would quite match up to her.

All of it changed the year Hisana passed away; the same year Ichigo started his sophomore year of university. She completely transformed into a different person. She cut her hair to a short bob that barely curled past her ears. Her clothes got much tighter, shorter, and suggestive. She went out clubbing with her rich friends, that Ichigo didn't speak with. She got really controlling, jealous, and even started swearing at him. It wasn't until a small zip-lock baggy, emptied of what obviously was cocaine was found in her car that he found out what the catalyst in her change was. When Ichigo asked her about it, she punched him in the mouth making him catch a small chunk of his bottom lip in his teeth as a punishment for digging through her things. Of course she was high when she did it, so when he didn't immediately receive an apology soon after he had plans to break up with her. It took her a while to sober up, but when she did an apology was issued along with a white gold plated, tungsten-carbide promise ring with diamonds encrusted on the outer edge. Ichigo instantly forgave her, but deep down he was ashamed of himself and wished he didn't let it go so easy. Things only got relatively worse from that point on, but Ichigo persevered, hoping things weren't going to be like this forever.

After a little more than half an hour the nauseating pain simmered away so, he took the frozen vegetables from his crotch and sat them in the sink to rinse them off in warm water. He took the promise ring off his left ring-finger and just stared at it. Sometimes it felt like she didn't even love him anymore, and when those times came Ichigo felt as if the ring he wore was just a false hope.

_Maybe things are just meant to be this way._

Ichigo slipped the piece of cool piece of jewelry back on his finger, grabbing the half thawed package from the sink and sitting it on the counter; may as well have cooked it later on, but right now he seriously needed that glass of water. He grabbed a glass, and pressed it against the ice/water dispenser of the refrigerator and watched as the fluid quickly filled his glass. He put the glass up to his lips graciously sipping it, his eyes closed as those sips quickly turned into quenching gulps. The cold water trickled down his dry throat, and a small bit managed to sneak past the corners of his mouth as he finished it up. He sat the glass down on the counter top wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. When he turned around he watched Rukia slowly stalk down the stairs. She was no longer wearing the paper towel she called a dress, but instead one of his faded t-shirts and Chappy Bunny panties. Her short hair was clipped up in a bun, and her face was clean of all makeup that she had on. Not to mention there was a half eaten burrito in her hand.

He kept silent as she walked into the kitchen, but when she approached him and wrapped her arms around him he sighed. She always did this. He looked down into her eyes seeing that they were back to normal and staring back up at him apologetically. He almost didn't notice the dab of ketchup on her chin.

"Ya got a little..." Ichigo started, but rather finished by wiping the sauce away with his thumb and swiping his tongue over it.

"Thanks." She blushed briefly, subtly tossing her hair to the side with the a slight jerk. "Look Ichigo...I..."

He shook his head placing a hand on her cheek to kiss her lips briefly, then let his other arm swoop around to caress the arch of her back as the kiss broke. "Just say the rest of that burrito is for me, and I'll be happy."

Her violet eyes lit up as she smiled, and she nodded her head. "Deal, but I also have some good news for you." She pulled away from Ichigo to sit her half eaten breakfast on a napkin, and into the microwave.

"What is it babe?" He leaned against the counter-top with his morale completely changed.

"I know how you said you wanted to work again, but I don't want you working at the God-awful candy shop, where all those little high school sluts will – whatever – I talked to Onii-chan, he pulled a few strings and got you an interview with a business associate of his."

Ichigo stayed quiet for a moment as he tried to process what she just told him. "Are you sure you want me to do this? I mean, I don't need to work and I don't mind taking care of the house while you're out."

As the microwave gave it's finalized beeps of the burrito being warm, Rukia carefully grabbed it sitting it on a plate and taking it to the table.

"Of course, you've been so mopey since you quit your old job. I miss that look on your face you would get when you saw me after a long day. Besides, Onii-chan doesn't really do things for the sake of it, I'm sure he's getting something out of it so if you don't want to do it, you'll have to answer to him."

Ichigo picked up the burrito cautiously taking a bite as it was still rather hot, then inwardly rolled his eyes. Of course it wasn't like he had a choice in this either, it seemed that way with just about everything nowadays. When he finally swallowed the bite of burrito he held in his mouth he smiled with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Alright, I'll go."

Rukia wiggled her way into Ichigo's lap, and placed a soft kiss on his jaw. "Great. Call Onii-chan later on to get the details, and make sure you thank him."

"I will." He took a much bigger bite from the burrito, before curling his arm securely around her small framed waist. "I'll be sure to thank you too, I'm making your favorite for lunch."

"Pot stickers?!" She animatedly kicked her small legs with an excited grin on her face.

"Pot stickers."

She pressed a kiss to his lips that time, then wrapped her arms around his neck embracing him. "You're too good to me Ichigo."

This feeling is what Ichigo lived for. Hearing her say things like that, or react the way she did to something as simple as pot stickers helped him hang in there. Each and every time she hit him or said something hurtful, she somehow managed to make up for it; whether it was a promise ring or something simple like the rest of her burrito either way it made Ichigo all the happier. Underneath all the drugs, makeup, and hurtful actions Rukia was still the same woman he fell in love with in high school. No amount of punches she could throw, or combination of degrading names she could call him would ever change the way he truly saw her.

It's not like she was the problem anyway.

* * *

If his secretary didn't completely breakdown, and quit a few days ago Grimmjow wouldn't have had to look for a new one. It's truly his own fault for thinking some woman could handle working for him. He had to admit that working without a secretary wasn't as easy it sounded, there was a lot that she left for him to do. Of all times for his secretary to go crazy, it had to be now; these last couple days weren't exactly the best.

He looked outside the window which had been eight stories off the ground, and took another sip of his dry scotch. It's five o'clock somewhere right?

Aside from his secretary being put in the loony bin, he had to break it off with his ex-fiance after finding out the fucker had been stealing from him. Grimmjow really did love the man, he nearly changed who he was completely just to make him happy, and the guy just used him as a good fuck and a quick buck.

The crystal scotch glass he held in his hand began to crack as he tightly gripped it in his clutches; just thinking about him put a bad taste in his mouth. He really should have killed him.

While looking carefully he could see his reflection in the window; his sky blue hair was a mess of natural waves, a pair of thick framed black glasses rested over his cerulean eyes, he had forgotten to shave that morning so a cyan five-o'clock shadow began to form. He didn't wear an overcoat that morning, but simply a white dress shirt tucked into his jet black slacks, with a black and gray striped silk tie and a dark brown leather belt. He even looked pissed off, and drinking liquor this early in the day wasn't going to fix a damn thing. With a deep sigh he sat the glass down on the ledge of his window, staring down at the hundreds of people trying to make it to work; it was only eight o'clock and already people were stuck in rush hour.

Wait.

Something was supposed to happen in a little bit, he fished his smartphone from his pocket and checked his email. He scrolled through the various messages slowly searching for something to jog his memory, though before he could remember exactly what it was there was a faint knock at his door. He didn't look up from the small screen, but only yelled out in response.

"What?!"

When the door creaked open he turned his attention toward the perpetrator. A tall, lanky kid with bright unruly, spiked orange hair, big honey-brown eyes, chocolate scraping colored freckles, wearing a pale blue button-up that looked too big on him, tucked into a pair of dark navy blue slacks and chloroform shined black designer shoes. He looked nervous as all fucks, and he held a manila folder with a cup of Starbucks which trembled slightly in his hand.

"Who the fuck're you?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki. I-I have an interview scheduled for this time with Mr. Jaegerjaques. Do I have the wrong office?"

_Shit._

"That's right, you're my eight o'clock." He stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "Get in here, you're nearly late."

Grimmjow nearly lost his shit as the kid took a few steps into the office, somehow tripping on his own footing and spilling his coffee all over the folder he had brought. He fought the smirk that threatened to break his professional bearing, and walked over to him to help him up.

"Dammit! I'm really, really sorry! Oh no, I got it all over your carpet, I'll pay to get it cleaned. This is so embarrassing."

Grimmjow honestly tried, but couldn't stop the chuckle that crept up in his throat. He offered the kid a hand up, and he shakily took it standing up. None of the coffee happened to stain his clothes, so it wasn't a complete and total bust.

"Hey, relax. It's all good. Looks like your paperwork got the worst of it."

"It had my references and resume in there, Byakuya told me that's all I needed to bring."

"Don't worry about all that, just have a seat."

"Yes, sir."

When the orangette took his seat, Grimmjow walked over to his side of the desk taking his own seat. He paid special attention to the boy's body language; sat up straight with his hands in his lap, and his lips were pressed closed as he stared forward. He had dark circles underneath his eyes from lack of a _few_ good nights rest, and if he wasn't mistaking himself Grimmjow could have sworn he saw bruises around his neck.

"What's your name again?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Japanese?"

"Half. The other is Irish. My mother's side."

"Weird combination, but makes sense never seen a Japanese man with orange hair and freckles."

"Never seen one with blue hair either."

Grimmjow's eyebrow crooked up, a grin meeting his lips. Ichigo on the other hand turned a bit red, and opened his mouth to apologize, but Grimmjow instantly cut him off.

"How old are ya?"

"My race then my age? Are you allowed to ask me these sorta questions?"

"Whose gonna stop me? It's my enterprise. I hate repeatin' myself so answer me Ichigo."

"Twenty-two."

"Where didja work before?"

"At a candy shop."

"What happened?"

"I quit."

"Why?"

Ichigo took a few seconds to think about his answer, and looked at his hands.

"I didn't like it there."

Grimmjow knew he was lying just because of the change in his body language, but right now wasn't really the time to call him out. There was something different about this one, he didn't want to drive him away, not without figuring out what his deal was that is.

"Whaddya expect to accomplish by workin' for me?"

"I dunno."

"Where do ya see yourself in five years?"

Ichigo gave a puzzled look shrugging his shoulders, his eyes once again at his hands.

"I dunno."

"Where did you graduate high school from?"

"Karakura High."

"Accomplishments?"

"Valedictorian; graduated with a four point eight, and a full ride scholarship to any college I wanted to go to."

"Where did you go?"

"Waseda University."

"Yeah? Waseda is my alma mater. What's your major?"

"Biomedical engineering."

"Impressive. Got your degree?"

"Not yet."

"Where do you live?"

"Karakura Town."

"You came all the way to Tokyo for an interview, but you don't know what you can accomplish by workin' here?"

Ichigo squirmed in his seat. "Byakuya went out of his way to get me this interview. The least I could do is show up."

Something was holding Ichigo back, and Grimmjow knew for a fact that he wouldn't get anything out of him like this. There was no point in asking for clarification, because he could tell the kid was hiding something. He didn't seem like a bad guy, but he lacked confidence. Grimmjow could tell that Ichigo was a lot more than what he sold himself for, but someone or something was suppressing him. One simply does not just get into Waseda University and drop out before their major was completed, it was one of the best schools in all of Japan.

Regardless of what he was hiding, Grimmjow liked him and was curious to find out more about him. There was another side to this kid and he determined to see it.

Grimmjow stood up offering a polite half-smirk. "I don't think I have anything else for you right now."

Ichigo sighed shaking his head briefly then stood up. "I'm sorry for wasting your time, Mr. Jaegerjaques."

"Wasn't a waste of time, I wouldn't say that at all. I definitely want ya back for another interview. You'll be hearin' from me real soon kid." He reached his hand out to offer Ichigo a hand shake.

Ichigo's expression brightened at that moment, then he shook hands with Grimmjow before taking his departure.

For some reason when Ichigo left, he strangely felt a lot better. Given, his forty-two thousand dollar carpet had a coffee stain on it, he may have just found a new secretary.

He tossed the empty Starbucks cup in the wastebasket, and picked up his soiled manila folder. Nothing at all was legible so he threw it out as well, then he walked up to his window once more staring outside. He pulled out his phone and pressed the first number he had placed on speed dial, after no more than two rings the man on the other line picked up.

"Yes?"

"Hello Shawlong, I want you to do me a favor."

"What is it Mr. Jaegerjaques?"

Grimmjow looked down at the flash of orange amongst the crowd of hundreds of other men and women.

"Find out everything you can about Ichigo Kurosaki. Follow him if you must, but I want to know anything and everything about this kid."

"Will do boss."

* * *

Was it wrong for him to admire yet _hate_ a man he just met?

Grimmjow was confident, strong, bold, intelligent, cocky, and just so sure of himself. He didn't seem too much older than Ichigo, and he had his own enterprise. Where as Ichigo was twenty-two, didn't even have his own driver's license, didn't finish school, stayed in a home with a drug addicted volatile woman, and didn't even have a thousand yen to his name.

Rukia _was_ right, he was pathetic.

Ichigo was surprised when Grimmjow said he wanted him back for another interview, there was nothing special about him. He was a nobody. Rukia knew it, he knew it, and Grimmjow definitely knew it. He truly didn't know if he even wanted to go to the second interview, he didn't have anything else he could offer.

He would just be an embarrassment to himself and to Byakuya for setting him up. What was _really_ embarrassing was the personal hit at his red hair; yes Ichigo fucking knew the Japanese didn't have red hair. He didn't need to be reminded of it over and over again, he got enough of it at high school, and got more than enough of it from Rukia. He knew his hair was a stupid unnatural color, and he honestly couldn't wait to dye it black so he could feel relatively good about his appearance.

Oh, and lets not forget tripping and spilling coffee all over his paperwork right when he stepped into the office. Fucking smooth. Nice first impression. Could he be any more worthless?

_**Stop it.**_

Ichigo held tightly onto the pole until he felt his hand go numb. As he stood in the middle of the subway car his eyes snapped shut and he tried to stop the painful thoughts that were flooding his mind. His jaw clenched tight, and his forehead pressed to the cool metal pole, as he felt a lump in his throat that if he hadn't swallowed would force tears to leak from his eyes.

What had he done to his life?

* * *

_**AN: A review a reader had posted on my other fic: Captivated by Chance, inspired this idea. Its not your typical, 'lets beat up the Strawberry and have Grimmy save him' because we all know that's not how Shawn rolls ;D~ I'm gonna finish Captivated I promise, I'm still working on it. I just had to get this angsty masterpiece off my brain and share it with all you lovelies. Don't forget to drop a review and tell me what you think! Any questions of course will be personally answered ^^. **_

_**Take it easy, and thanks for reading!**_

_**-Shawn**_

* * *

_**Buotoko:**__** An insult in Japanese for an extremely ugly male.**_


	2. Interview Number Two

_**AN: HAPPY **__**EFFING**__** NEW YEAR EVERYONE. Yeah I know I'm a bit late...but that's okay I totally have an **__**explanation**__**a**__** whole lot has been going on in the interesting life of Shawn. If you guys didn't know already I'm active duty Air Force as a mechanic, and I'm stationed overseas in Turkey. So with that I've been swamped with settling in, and finishing up my studies and whatnot. Alas! I managed to get this chapter out. I don't want to make any promises, but I will **__**try**__** to update this more often. I have big plans for it. Anyway, enough about me and my boring life. Happy reading!**_

* * *

With a bagful of produce curled inside his right arm Ichigo managed to unlock the door to the condo and step in. It was strangely quiet, and the scent of Rukia's very sweet perfume invaded his nostrils.

"_Koibito_? I'm back from the market!" He spoke a bit loudly, letting his deep voice echo through the rather spacious interior.

When he heard no intimation of a response, he kicked the door shut and made his way to the kitchen sitting the brown paper bag filled with fresh picked fruits and vegetables on the counter. She must have gone out for an early lunch with her friends, or something. Either way, he may as well put everything away and figure out what he was going to cook for later.

It was pretty nice whenever Rukia wasn't home; he was able to just let loose and be himself without fear of repercussion.

He made his way into the bedroom, and pulled off the layers of clothes he wore starting with the black Egyptian cotton scarf he had around his neck.  
After getting it off he conveniently used it to wipe away the sweat that accumulated on his forehead, then tossed it on the ground intent on picking it up later. Next to go was the gray pullover cardigan which was neatly draped over a sweat drenched vintage, sky blue crew neck, which he peeled off momentarily afterward.

Finally he stepped out of his designer square toed leather shoes, and unbuckled his belt allowing for his white slim jeans to drop at his ankles leaving him only in his low-rise boxerbriefs. When he felt the cool air break the thin sheet of sweat that covered his nearly nude body, a comfortable sigh left him.

Yeah it had hit triple digits that day, but that didn't give him any excuse not to cover himself up. There were two definite reasons for this madness. The first being, of course, Rukia; if he'd ever tried to leave in anything that showed too much skin she would give him a reason not to do so. A very painful reason not to.

The second was something anyone could see. Ichigo walked up to the mirror paned door of his closet and paused just to look at himself.

His eyes held heavy bags beneath them, with a healing bluish bruise circling his right eye; his face flushed while the rest of his body held a sickly pale tone. Bruised hand-prints around his neck were the first to be noticed, followed by long scars which trailed from his right shoulder to his bicep as a result of fierce clawing. On his rather toned pectorals, and down his washboard abdominals a scar from a second degree water burn colored his natural pasty flesh. On his back and at his right side were home of permanent yellow-brown bruises from frequent attacks, and a few previously broken ribs. The only thing that was unscathed were his legs, they were all he had that _she _hadn't gotten to.

The longer Ichigo looked at himself, the uglier he felt. There was never any going back from there, no matter how much he forgave Rukia he could never forgive himself for being so weak and allowing her to do this. He could never find it in himself to just go or even alone fight back. There was no one else on the planet that would find him even remotely attractive even if they managed to look past his bright orange hair and freckled face.

Being marked whenever he was abused by Rukia was something he couldn't bare, it was just a painful reminder that he fucked up and pushed her anger just that far. At times he really felt like he deserved it; he couldn't leave her when he felt like he was the direct cause of her wrath.

His jaw clenched and instantly he looked down at his feet, he couldn't even look at himself anymore. There wasn't even pain whenever he thought like this, but instead a hole in his chest where his heart should have been. It just managed to grow bigger with each passing day he managed to suffer.

Ichigo sucked in a deep gasp of air, then opened the closet door without looking at himself; he couldn't keep doing _this _forever, eventually it was going to have to stop.

He grabbed a long sleeve crew neck then stepped into a pair of baggy sweatpants. He peeled his socks off leaving them on the floor prior to closing the door and giving himself a look over as he was finally covered up.

Before he could fall into the reverie of self-loathing, he noticed the familiar polyphonic ringtone of his phone ringing from the kitchen.

He had a feeling that it was Rukia so he quickly ran into the kitchen – where he managed to leave his cell phone when he left for the market initially. Without paying much attention to whom it may have been, he slid his thumb across the screen and answered the call.

"He-Hello?"

"Heh. Hello, Ichigo. I hope you aren't always this awful at answering phones. It's kind of what a secretary does."

Ichigo's eyes widened once he realized whom exactly he was talking to. It had been a little over two weeks since his interview with the multibillionaire blunet; honestly he was starting to think that he wasn't going to get another chance. He swallowed thickly, at an attempt to compose himself and snapped back a response.

"I am really sorry Mr. Jaegerjaques, I was just coming home from the store and I needed to change. I-I can assure you I'm not nearly this bad at answering phones."

There was a slight pause, and Ichigo could hear the faint chuckle at the other man's end of the phone. "I've been tryin' to get ahold of ya for the past week. I've sent a few e-mails, then after no response I managed to get a hold of your cell phone number."

_I never gave him my e-mail and Rukia is the only one that has this number... How did he... _

"I'm sorry, I don't really have the chance to ever check my e-mail. Is there something you need?"

"Strange. Ya sent me read receipts, so I figured – forget it, it's not that important..."

_Read receipts? What the hell?_

"But as a matter'a fact yeah, there is somethin' I need from ya."

"What is it?"

"A second interview."

The fact that he got the second interview was great, but frankly he wasn't all that excited for it. "Oh. Uh... alright. When?"

"Well, I've given you about a weeks notice through e-mail. So today, in two hours."

"I-I can't get to Tokyo in two hours!"

"Don't bother. Be outside your door in exactly an hour and forty five-minutes, I'll have someone pick you up. Shower if you need to and don't bother getting too dressed up. Dress casual. We're grabbin' some lunch."

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck, before glancing over at the clock on the stove just to assess how much time he had.

"Where am I going exactly?"

"Don't worry, you won't be going to Tokyo. I'm taking care of some business here in Karakura, so we'll be going to a bistro downtown. '_Vaizādo__'__.__"_

_Sounds familiar..._

Ichigo shook his head with a tight squeeze of his eyes. _"_O-Okay. I think that'll fine. _Domo arigato._"

"Don't mention it. I'll see ya there."

With the click of the receiving end, the call ended.

The only problem he had was the fact that Rukia wasn't here, so he couldn't just tell her before going. Immediately after the phone call ended he quickly tapped in her number. When he got no answer, he hit redial and began to put the groceries away hoping that would calm his anxious nerves. After a second unsuccessful attempt, he sat the phone down momentarily to dispose of the paper bag.

Once he returned he grabbed the house phone instead and called her once more; instead of the phone giving a few rings and going to her voicemail, it just went straight to voicemail. She either turned her phone off or she was physically ignoring him.

_I hate when she does this..._

Since she wasn't picking up and never checked her voice mailbox, Ichigo quickly scribbled a note saying where he would be and who he would be with. Once he finished filling paper out, he set it on the refrigerator with a Chappy Bunny magnet.

Usually she didn't mind notes as long as he had his phone on him, and was _precisely_ where he said he was going to be.

Meanwhile he couldn't even get her to answer her phone. Totally fair right?

Ichigo glanced over at the clock to see that thirty minutes had already passed. He left the kitchen and made his way to the bathroom. He quickly pulled off the clothes he put on just moments ago, and hopped into the shower. Usually bathing time was limited to less than ten minutes, baths were off limits and Rukia's permission was needed whenever he wanted to take one. However, she wasn't home and he was still a bit sticky from sweating so much.

He turned the dials for the water – of course using more cold water than hot – then, washed up routinely as if Rukia were watching him.

Shampoo. Lather in order: face, neck, shoulders, arms, pits, chest-to-stomach, back, sides, crotch, rear-end, legs, feet. Rinse. Repeat. Rinse. Get out.

Once he finished drying himself off, Ichigo walked back to the bedroom. He glanced at the alarm clock beside the bed and smiled noticing he still had about forty five minutes left. He walked over to the closet – intentionally looking past his reflection – and began the search for something casual.

When he finally pieced together the perfect outfit, he gave himself a good look over.

The orangette wore a rather tight, crisp white Henly shirt with the sleeves down to cover his arms, a pair of dark denim, slim bootcut Levi's, dull obsidian colored combat boots, with a loose gray infinity scarf around his neck and covering his light maroon eyes a pair of sunglasses to effectively hide the dark circle beneath his eye. He really was hoping he wasn't overdoing it and he hoped Grimmjow wouldn't make him remove anything.

He had less than ten minutes to spare, so he cleaned up the mess he made and with a sense of accomplishment Ichigo walked to the kitchen, double checked that the note was still mounted on the refrigerator, then grabbed his cell phone off the countertop, his set of keys out of the key dish and headed outside.

He didn't have too look very hard for his ride, as there was a jet black, 2013 S-Class Mercedes-Benz parked in the place where Rukia's plum colored Mustang would sit.

Leaning against the car was a tall man that had to have been around the same age as his father. He had shoulder length dark raven hair that was braided behind his back, a strong jawline, bushy eyebrows, and a rather stoic demeanor. He wore a black and white argyle sweater, with white slacks and black dress shoes. In his hand a Blackberry, with a lit cigarette betwixt his thin fingers.

Right when Ichigo closed the door to the condo, and locked it up the male against the car glanced over at him. He put the cigarette out using the bottom of his shoe and sat the remains in a silver-plated cigarette case which he pulled from his pocket.

"Are you Ichigo Kurosaki?" He asked slipping the Blackberry back into his pocket.

Ichigo warily stepped off the porch and in the direction of the mystery man.

"Yes. And you are?"

"Shawlong Koufang. I'm Mr. Jaegerjaques' personal assistant. I'll be taking to your second interview and lunch with him."

"Oh, um. Alright. I'm ready when you are sir."

"Right this way. Oh, and please Mr. Kurosaki, call me Shawlong."

Ichigo nodded his head, and followed Shawlong to the rear seats of the car. Once the man opened the door for him with a polite smile, Ichigo got in and secured himself into his seatbelt.

* * *

Karakura was a very nice, down to earth type place though Grimmjow could never see himself living there. He wasn't one for bumping into one of his subordinates whenever he decided to grab a drink at the bar, or running into his doctor if he needed a pack of cigarettes from the convenience store. Small towns just weren't his scene.

The only official business he had in Karakura Town was a brief meeting with the head of Kuchiki Corporations. However, he was more interesting in having another interview with a certain red head.

There was definitely something up with him, it was if he wasn't even looking forward to getting the job. That would explain the lack of e-mail responses. Hopefully the second interview would go slightly better in a more laid-back setting and Grimmjow could get more than a single word reply out of him.

It was pretty hot early on that day, but with the clouds quickly filling the sky and hiding the sun it soon got much cooler. With that he definitely took advantage of the situation and grabbed a small table that sat outside the bistro and instantly slipped a cigarette between his lips. He took a deep lungful of the sinfully sweet nicotine, and with a slow exhale he let the icy menthol cool his lips. As much as he loved his job, he definitely hated the meetings. He lacked the patience to sit still and listen to people talk about _whatever._ And there was the fact that he couldn't smoke or drink in many of the instances.

He pulled his Blackberry from his pocket and sat it on the table with a brief glance; luckily there were only a few e-mails and a couple text messages. Head of an enterprise or not, he needed a lunch break just like anyone else.

A few minutes later and his Blackberry began to vibrate on the glass table, as much as he wanted to ignore it the vibrating was already getting annoying. He glimpsed down at the small screen, and gave a cocked eyebrow once he saw whom it was – or rather whom it could've been.

_Blocked number?_

Out of curiosity he answered it with another deep drag of smoke.

"Hello?"

"..."

"Who the hell is this?"

"..."

"Speak, or I'm hangin' up. Ya got five seconds."

"..."

"Bye."

"Grimmjow wait! I-It's me."

In a matter of seconds he went from slightly irritated to completely irate, his blood was boiling, his teeth clenched, and while his entire form locked up. That high pitched, feminine tone of voice could only belong to the only man to break his heart.

_How fucking convienent..._

"Ya got a lotta balls calling' me up Luppi."

"I know...but I just thought you should know that there's something wrong with my key to the house. I can't get in."

Grimmjow had to stop himself from laughing.

"Of course they don't work dumbass, I changed the fuckin' locks. Didja really think I was just gonna let ya come back?"

"You're overreacting. I just want to go back and get a few things."

"Get a few things? Like the hundred thousand dollars ya been takin' from me every month wasn't enough? The fuck else couldja want?" He kept his voice as low as possible, but he could already tell he wasn't going to contain himself for more than about a minute.

"Please don't be this way, I really miss you. I didn't mean t –"

"Don't be _what_ way?! I trusted ya. Let ya stay in my home. Y-ya didn't have to work o-or even pay fuckin' bill. I gave ya everything I could possibly give, but somehow it just wasn't enough for ya was it?"

Now he was standing, his fists tight and his heart racing in his chest. His stomach felt like it had been replaced with bubbling lava, and all he could see was red.

"_Grimmy_, it's –."

"DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN!"

"Grimmjow, I'm sorr-"

Without another word he ended the call and slammed his phone on the glass table, unintentionally cracking the surface and shattering his phone. He didn't notice he was trembling until he brought his cigarette to his lips to take a final drag from it.

_How fucking dare he._

Grimmjow absolutely hated feeling like this. He was always the man in charge, he always set the rules, always had a plan, never let anyone catch him in a weak spot. Except for now, he was vulnerable. His heart physically hurt. He had never loved anyone before Luppi, never had he _trusted _anyone before Luppi. When he finally did, the situation ended up creeping up on him and stabbing him in the back.

He needed scotch. Lots of scotch to relieve the pain.

"Sir?" Shawlong spoke very carefully.

"What?" He snapped in a low, cautious tone.

"Mr. Kurosaki has arrived for his interview. He is still waiting in the car, but you don't seem to be in the right state of mind to interview him. Would you like to reschedule?"

Grimmjow shook his head with a reposeful breathe. Then in a much more tamed manner he looked up at Shawlong and replied. "No, no. Send him to me."

"Yes sir. Would you like me to wait here while you two have your meal?"

"No. In fact I need a new Blackberry. I broke this one too. I also need the number changed. Once you finish that, take lunch. I'll call ya on my personal mobile if I need ya."

"As for Mr. Kurosaki?"

Grimmjow rubbed the back of his neck upon sitting the cigarette butt in the ashtray. "I'll take 'im home. Just send the address to my car's GPS."

"Very well, thank you sir."

As short as his fuse was, he couldn't let it steer Shawlong away; the old man had been at his side long before he had money. There wasn't anyone in the world who could put up with him each day for years, and still have so much patience and respect for him. He was practically family.

The older man scooped the damaged smartphone into his hands then made his way to the car. He opened one of the rear doors and out stepped the man of the hour. Compared to what he wore to the initial interview, Ichigo looked great. For someone who did not project any type of confidence he actually dressed fairly well.

"Hello Mr. Jaegerjaques. Is everything okay? I heard you yelling."

"Yes, a'course. Everything's fine. I was uh, startin' to think ya wouldn't show."

"Well, it's not everyday, someone like _you _calls someone like _me _in for a second interview."

Grimmjow couldn't stop the grin that formed on his lips.

"Heh, and you're talkin' to me too? All I had to do was offer ya lunch to get ya to relax. I'll keep that in mind."

Ichigo's cheeks lit up to a light crimson, and even underneath those sunglasses he wore Grimmjow could tell he was staring at his feet.

"Go choose a new table, wherever ya want. I'll let the waiter know that you're here, and I'll go ahead and put in our orders. What would you like?"

"I'll have um – honeydew milk tea."

He crooked up an eyebrow.

"Boba?"

"If they have it, yes."

The blunet gave a civilized smile.

"Okay, sounds easy enough."

"Know what ya wanna eat yet?"

The orangette shook his head, and with that Grimmjow went inside.

He felt different all of a sudden, like that phone call had never happened. For some reason Ichigo made him feel a little better, and even made him smile too.

There was something different about this one, he couldn't just let him slip through his fingers.

Once Shawlong pulled up to the bistro, Ichigo remembered what was so familiar about the restaurant. He used to go to it all the time when he was in school, but for the life of him he couldn't remember why he just stopped going.  
He always ordered the same thing, it wasn't very expensive, and it was pretty good. For some reason though, he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. However, Grimmjow tasked him with finding new seats so he shook his head of the pesky thought and proceeded to move spots.

After hopping to a few tables over, he surreptitiously gazed at Grimmjow as he stood in line waiting to be served. The man was angry enough to crack a table, but didn't have a care in the world beside that. He walked as if he owned the world, and stood as if he were a king and everyone beneath him were his peasants. There was a time when Ichigo had just as much confidence as Grimmjow, but then again that was a while ago when Ichigo was a completely different person.

Once or twice he ran his long, fingers through his wavy, blue disorderly hair and gave a charming grin to the cashier. He jerked his head over toward the table he'd assaulted, then once again combed his fingers through his unruly hair.

Ichigo was already growing annoyed with the man, he was practically flaunting his hair. There was no one else in all of Japan who naturally had that hair color, it wasn't unique it was stupid and weird. How could just about anyone take that man serious?

**_It's no better than __your __ridiculous__ orange hair..._**

There it was again, that _voice _that always haunted his mind. Ichigo bit into his bottom lip and stared down at his hands not liking where his wayward thoughts are headed. He had to stop thinking like this. Now was not the time to think like this.

"Somethin' wrong?" Grimmjow returned startling him.

Ichigo brought his gaze back up to him, the color promptly draining from his face.

He shook his head.

In the blunet's hand was a small rectangular tray, on the tray sat Ichigo's milk tea, with a small container filled with the orbs of tapioca, a rather large strawberry crumb-cake muffin and a medium sized mug. He placed Ichigo's cup in front of him, then sat his own items in his designated spot.

Grimmjow had gotten a coffee which presented a leaf-pattern imprinted in the milk. He set the tray aside, then sat opposite of Ichigo crossing his long legs. He looked comfortable, and at ease with his body it was like he loved every inch of himself.

Ichigo envied it.

"So, how exactly do ya know Byakuya?" Grimmjow started.

"I've been in a relationship with his younger sister for a few years now.

"Really? I wasn't even aware that he had a younger sister."

"They aren't blood related if that's what you mean. Her older sister had custody over her when they married so when she passed, Byakuya took her in."

"Hn. Makes sense." Grimmjow traced his finger over the rim of his steaming coffee mug, his eyes staring past Ichigo's sunglasses. "Got any siblings?"

"Yes. I'm the oldest of three. Their name's are Karin and Yuzu. They're both sixteen. Twins. Do you?"

"I've got a younger sister, and an older brother myself. Gustave, and Genevìeve-Adèle. I wish I was the oldest growin' up."

"Well, you _were_ the middle child. I can see your point." Ichigo grinned.

Grimmjow laughed then picked up his mug placing the rim to his lips.

"So, what made ya drop out of Waseda? If I'm not mistaken you only had about half a semester of schooling left."

Ichigo didn't really know how to answer him, so he stalled the best he could. He grabbed the small spoon inside the container, plopping a few of the soft, slippery balls of tapioca into his cup. Once all of the boba sank to the bottom, he took a swallow of the sweet milk tea and cleared his throat.

Grimmjow took a casual sip of his coffee, then began tapping the ring he wore against the glass showing his impatience.

"I-I just needed a break."

_Liar._

"Fair enough. Have any plans on going back any time soon?"

"Not really. I don't think I can handle the stress right now."

Grimmjow nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with his response, then glanced down at his strawberry crumb-cake muffin. His long fingers deftly peeled back the paper; Ichigo watched with unnecessary fascination.

"Ya sure, ya don't want anything? I don't like sharin' my food." he asked with an amused tone, and a smirk to his lips.

"No, I'm alright. Thanks." Ichigo looked down into his drink again.

"What's your impression of me?"

"You're intimidating and you kinda make me nervous. To be honest, the only reason I'm here is because Byakuya went through the trouble of getting me the interview."

Ichigo mixed around his tea using his straw then took an idle sip. When he heard a sharp intake of air coming from Grimmjow he looked up.

"You should find me intimidating, I could potentially be your boss." he nods. "But, I shouldn't make ya nervous though. I really would like having ya as my secretary, I spoke with your previous employer, and a few of your old professors they had nothing but great things to say about ya."

Ichigo brought his cool hand to the back of his hot neck, his fingers twirling with the hairs that rested there. To have someone that actually wanted him for something, felt so foreign. He went through the trouble of finding his e-mail, personal mobile, and got in contact with his old professors and supervisor.

"Why would you do _all that – _for someone like me?" Ichigo muttered quietly.

"Frankly, it's because you're a mystery, Ichigo."

"There's nothing mysterious about me."

"Bullshit. You're wearing sunglasses – in the shade. Ya got an interview with a man that could buy and sell ya, yet ya find your feet, your hands or that damn tea more interesting than myself. Not to mention ya blush all the time, there's obviously something goin' on in that head'a yours and I wanna figure out just what it is."

He popped a small piece of muffin into his mouth and started to chew it slowly, not taking his eyes off Ichigo. His gaze piercing through the solarized lenses of Ichigo's glasses, then as if on cue crimson swept over his cheeks.

"Wow..." Ichigo exhaled.

"Am I makin' any sense here?"

"Yeah."

"Good. And sense we're on the subject, take off those glasses. I don't feel like we can continue this without any sorta real eye contact."

"I-I can't."

"Why not?"

"My eyes are very sensitive to the light."

"Fine, lets go inside."

Ichigo squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. He didn't see why it mattered if he wore them or not.

"No. Just – forget it." Ichigo spoke in a bit of hindrance, as he pulled the sunglasses off his face and sat them onto the table.

And there it was. That dreaded look he always used to get.

Surprise and curiosity.

"What the fuck happened to your eye?"

He didn't want to lie, it always made him feel like that much lower as person. He had never told a lie in his life, up until he met Rukia. He went from covering things up, to telling little white lies here and there, to completely making things up so no one would suspect he was being hurt. Telling the truth was never an option. Besides, who would believe _him_ anyway?

"You saw for yourself how clumsy I am. I slipped and fell again."

Ichigo hated how natural it felt to just make up something like that; like he _had _to protect her_._

"Yeah, looks like ya fell into a fist."

Ichigo sighed, and easily went along with it.

"The subway isn't as safe as you think it is, especially with hair like mine. Easy target."

Grimmjow laughed softly.

"I know what ya mean. Havin' hair the same color as cotton candy, wasn't too popular when I was in school."

"_Really? _I hardly even noticed it._" _Ichigo tried not to roll his eyes. Given he was still a bit annoyed with having to remove his sunglasses.

Grimmjow raised his eyebrows with yet another smirk.

"So, I do have to ask. Why haven't you asked me to call you by your first name? You seem pretty comfortable with calling me by mine." Ichigo muttered snidely with a sense of temerity.

Why had the conversation take such a serious turn? The interview wasn't going the way Ichigo thought it was going to go. He felt so antagonistic toward Grimmjow all of a sudden it was like he was trying to ward the man off.

Instead of a response, Grimmjow just glared directly into his eyes. Ichigo took a sip of his tea, chewing one of the balls of tapioca that managed to get sucked through the straw, while Grimmjow took another small piece of his muffin into his mouth.

Grimmjow took a different approach and changed the subject.

"Tell me about your parents."

_Why does he want to know this? _

"My father – Isshin Kurosaki is a doctor in Karakura Town. He runs his own clinic. He's kinda the reason I got into medicine."

Grimmjow nodded. "Your mother?"

"She died when I was eight."

"Oh, uh..sorry." he muttered a fleeting, troubled look crossing his face.

"It's okay."

"Did your father remarry?"

Ichigo snickered.

"I wish."

"You're not giving much away." he said dryly, rubbing his chin as if in deep thought.

"I'm only answering the questions you _chose _to ask."

Grimmjow looked him in the eye once again, with the same humbling look as before. Ichigo had to learn to control his attitude with this man. If he had done something to embarrass Byakuya, it wouldn't turn out very good for him.

"Aside from being a huge goof, my dad is pretty great. It doesn't surprise me that he hasn't remarried either, he's still very much in love with my mother. I really do miss him, and my sisters too."

Grimmjow was watching him intently, taking occasional sips of his coffee as he spoke.

Ichigo falsely but politely smiled.

"I take it you don't see your family often?"

"No, they don't approve of me dating Rukia."

"And why is that?"

_Whoa. Red light._

"That's a little too personal."

"Alright, fine. Do ya have any hobbies?"

Ichigo shrugged.

_What does this man expect? My life story?_

"You're startin' to piss me off. All I asked is what ya do for fun. It's not that hard of a question."

Ichigo refrained from looking down or rolling his eyes.

_Pull it together. Come on._

"I really don't do anything. I dunno. I like to cook I guess..."

Come to think of it, Ichigo _really_ didn't do anything for fun. He mainly just looked after the condo and did whatever Rukia wanted.

That honestly wasn't a fair question.

_Two can play at this game._

"What about your parents?"

"My father Guillame actually handed down the enterprise to me when it was starting up, and my mother Anastasia is a fashion consultant. They retired in Belgium."

"What about your brother and sister?"

"Genevìeve is a model in Paris, and my older brother is a pilot in Royal Air Force; he's stationed somewhere in America."

His eyes clouded with irritation as if he didn't want to talk about his family.

"Belgium, Paris, America, Tokyo – you're all spread out everywhere."

"Heh, che. We've always been that way as a family. Do you travel?"

"I've never left Japan."

"Would ya be interested in doing somethin' like that?"

"What? Leaving _here? _Sure, maybe one day. Why do you ask?"

"In my line of work, I travel everywhere and I usually have my secretary come with me."

"Oh."

For once there was a comfortable silence between them. Grimmjow finished his muffin, then shoved away his nearly empty mug of coffee. Ichigo continued sipping his tea, taking more of the chewy boba into his mouth before he pushed his empty glass toward the center of the table as well. He looked up at the blunet whom was lighting a limp cigarette which dangled from the corner of his mouth.

All animosity, and petty jealousy aside Ichigo really did have a rather serious question.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it too late to order some actual food?"

Grimmjow glanced at him from beneath his lashes then began chuckling.

"It's about time ya said somethin'. I'm fuckin' starving Ichigo."

Ichigo laughed as well, and rubbed he back of his neck. "Sorry."

Grimmjow motioned for one of the waiters to come out, and momentarily one of them came out and took their orders. The food didn't take too long to prepare, and was in fact pretty good. The actual meal itself was surprisingly quiet, as both men just graciously cleared their plates.

food.

Once they finished up their food, a tall figure approached Ichigo from behind and sat the check in front of him. The orangette looked over his shoulder and felt his heart drop to his stomach, as familiar golden eyes, and short blonde tresses locked into his eyes.

The blonde gave a whopping big grin, and took a step back as Ichigo got out of his chair.

"Long time no see Ichigo." The man spoke upon wrapping Ichigo in his thin arms, in a tight embrace.

"Sh-Shinji."

It was then Ichigo remembered _exactly _why he hadn't returned to the restaurant in so many years.

"Excuse us for a moment, I'd like to speak to Ichigo in private." Shinji spoke over Ichigo's shoulder to Grimmjow, before dragging him inside.

"No problem." Grimmjow piped in rather distractedly as he lit another cigarette.

_Oh. Fuck._

* * *

Grimmjow was actually surprised with how great everything was going. The orangette definitely needed an attitude adjustment along with a huge confidence boost. He was never the one to pity anyone, so instead of letting Ichigo stay how he was he definitely wanted to show him his potential.

It would be a nice project to get his mind off his current heartbreak, and it would definitely benefit Ichigo.

He had to admit that there was something fishy with his excuse for his black eye, but he didn't feel like the boy was in any real danger. The subway system in general was always sketchy, so who knows he really could've been telling the truth.

Grimmjow took another drag from his cigarette, and held it in his lungs for a good minute.

Ichigo was definitely a mystery. Grimmjow could tell by how much of a smartass Ichigo was, that he definitely had more than he was offering. There was something holding him back; something keeping him from being himself. He had to find out what it was.

When he expelled the smoke with a soft sigh, he put the lit end out and grabbed his cell phone from his pocket. He looked down at the time and snickered to himself. They had been talking for almost two hours. Time definitely flew.

Ichigo came back outside, and instantly picked his sunglasses back up gluing them to his face. As fast as Ichigo was Grimmjow still caught a glimpse of his slightly pink, puffy eyes. He either got really high really fast inside or he was crying. For now, it wasn't any of Grimmjow's business.

"Hey Mr. Jaegerjaques are you ready to go? I-I gotta get home."

Grimmjow nodded. "Yeah, just let me pay the bill."

"It's been taken care of sir. I'm friends with the owner."

"Alright then, lets go."

Grimmjow pulled out his wallet and left more than enough to cover the table he cracked, along with a tip for the waiter, then walked Ichigo to his car; a custom made midnight blue, 2014 BMW 3 Series.

Without much delay Ichigo stepped into the passengers seat of the car and pulled his seatbelt on.

_What's with him?_

Grimmjow turned on his GPS pleased to see that Ichigo's address was programmed into it. He started the car up and in a few seconds they were off. The orangette seemed off in his own world at that moment, he just stared blankly out the tinted window with his chin rested in his palm.

It was a bit of a drive to find his home as it was more so in the richer side of Karakura Town. The condominiums were pretty nice, but honestly Grimmjow found them a bit too flashy. Once the GPS indicated that they were at their destination Grimmjow pulled into the parking space and set the parking break.

Ichigo unbuckled his seatbelt then reached his hand over to open his door.

"Hold up a minute kid."

Ichigo looked over his shoulder. "O-Oh sorry. Um. Thank you for the second interview."

"Pleasure's all mine and really ya don't hafta apologize."

"No really I –"

"Are ya really gonna try to argue with your new boss?"

"Well no, but – wait. You don't mean that I –" The scowl Ichigo wore on his face quickly turned to a faint smile.

"Che. I'll see ya next Monday."

He respectfully bowed his head to his new boss. "Yes sir. I'll see you Monday Mr. Jaegerjaques."

"Yes ya will. Take it easy Ichigo."

With that final note Ichigo got out of the car and went inside. Grimmjow leaned his head back against the seat with a grin, then released the parking break.

"Let's try not to drive this one crazy Grimmjow."

* * *

~_Translations~_  
_Koibito (Japanese) – Sweetheart, love, babe, etc.  
__Vaizādo __(Japanese) – Visored, vizard.__  
_  
_**AN: Oooh...a cliffhanger. One of my specialties. *sigh* don't worry about what it's about just yet, I promise our orange haired protagonist isn't in any more trouble than he's already in. ****The plot thickens as well eh? Ol' Grimmjow taking Ichigo under his wing? This outta be good...**_

_**Reading over it myself I felt like this chapter moved really quickly, but then again that's just me. If you hadn't noticed I started messing around with the spacing of the dialogue just to experiment, if you guys have problem with it let me know.**_

_**D****on't forget to leave any comments, questions or criticisms in the reviews, and to add it to your alerts.**_

_**Thanks for reading guys, I appreciate the loyalty even though I'm a horrible person for never updating ;-; ! **_

_**I'll try my best to update soon!**_

_**-Shawn**_


	3. A Weak Cry for Help

_**AN: As promised another chapter and it didn't take me like four months to complete haha. I don't have much for you guys, so please enjoy.**_

* * *

For the most part, the interview had been a success, but that didn't change how horrible he felt. He had a bad attitude for the majority of it, but truly it was nothing more than petty jealousy.

He envied everything possible about Grimmjow. The confidence in his walk, the pride in the way he spoke, the power he held in his eyes. It paled nothing to the way Ichigo slugged around, the timidity in his lack of voice, and the weakness he held in his eyes. He aspired to be like him in every way, but at the same time he despised him.

Once he heard Grimmjow's car pull out from the driveway, Ichigo pressed his back to the door and slid to the ground. He tossed the spectacles he wore off his face, and pulled off his scarf. He brought his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around his them and rested his forehead atop his forearms. He pressed his lips together with his eyes clenched tightly closed.

The glimpse of shame, empathy and fear in the eyes of his former friend along with the shake of wrath and compassion in his other friend's voice continued to rebuke him.

"_You can't keep living like this!"_

"Stop!" Ichigo cried out to himself, in his glimpse of his deteriorating psychological state.

"_One day, she's gonna go too far, a__nd it'll be too late.__"_

"No!" He yelled out once more, his fingers now clenching his hair. He tried to calm himself down and recover his breathing, but each time he tried it just got worse.

_**You are so pathetic. Not only do you get beat by a woman smaller than you, but you sit here and cry after seeing a few friends? What the fuck is wrong with you?**_

Everything had become so overwhelming in just a matter of minutes and he didn't know what to do. His throat felt tight. His heart hammered rapidly in his chest. He felt like someone was physically squeezing his stomach. The worst thing about it was that he couldn't move. He hated whenever _this_ happened, he felt so weak and powerless.

Why was all this happening?

Ichigo was so focused on trying to get himself together, that he didn't notice the garage door being opened and sound Rukia's heels clicking into the living room.

"Ichigo, what're you doing on the floor?"

Ichigo didn't have the strength to look up at her. The clicking of her heels revealed that she was walking toward him and when she finally towered over his huddled over form he cowered with his head between his knees.

The feeling of her acrylic nails combing through his hair made him shudder. She dropped a bag to his right and used both her small hands to raise his face.

As his face was lifted he opened his eyes to see her face inches from his own with sincerity in her big plum eyes.

"R-Rukia...I – "

"Shh. It's okay." She whispered wiping the tears from his face.

He flinched instinctively as her thumb brushed underneath his bruised eye. Ichigo shook his head, then took her wrist into his hand and kissed her palm. Whenever the woman showed her gentler side, Ichigo made sure to appreciate it. She wasn't just his main source of pain, but she was also his greatest solace. She was his drug and she had to have been a fool not to know it. There was no other person in the world that could make him feel so euphoric yet so miserable at the same time.

He brought his hand up tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and just kept his hand to the back of her neck. Ichigo's legs stretched out giving Rukia the chance to straddle his lap. Her hands went to his chest resting there.

Ichigo craved intimacy. Touching, kissing, hugging, holding, rubbing, eye gazing. Rukia was seldomly intimate, though when she had her moments they were...perfect. Those are the moments that Ichigo lived for.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

_During the interview..._

The blonde gave a whopping big grin, and took a step back as Ichigo got out of his chair.

"Long time no see Ichigo." The man spoke upon wrapping Ichigo in his thin arms, in a tight embrace.

"Sh-Shinji."

It was then Ichigo remembered _exactly _why he hadn't returned to the restaurant in so many years.

"Excuse us for a moment, I'd like to speak to Ichigo in private." Shinji spoke over Ichigo's shoulder to Grimmjow, before dragging him inside.

As he was forced into the restaurant Ichigo tried to make making as much small talk as possible.

"Y-yeah. I _completely_ forgot that you worked here." .

"Yep. I still work here. So does, Hiyori, Kensei, Rose. We're _all_ still here."

His tone quickly switching from chipper to terse. They stopped walking for a moment as the reached a swivel door.

"You're still with _her. __A_ren't you?" He asked in a much lower voice.

Ichigo could hear the disappointment in the man's voice instantly shaming him; that fact that he nodded made him feel ten times worst.

Shinji pushed past the swivel door and into the restaurants employee lounge where an old friend of Ichigo's sat with an old issue of _Playboy_ in her hand. She honestly hadn't changed a bit in the _years _Ichigo had seen her. Her long auburn hair was braided behind her back, with long bangs that swept over her forehead. The exact same pair of black thick framed, oval glasses, over her rather taciturn eyes. The only thing that really changed was schoolgirl outfit she wore to work.  
She wore a low cut midriff white button up with a pink ascot scarf, a pair gray, red rimmed knee-high socks, black heels and tied around her waist covering up her gray mini skirt was an apron.

"Look what the cat dragged in." Shinji said shoving Ichigo into the room, closing the door behind him.

The woman casually peeked up from her harem, and did a double take.

"H-hey Li – "

Without so much as another glance to her magazine, the pages crumpled in her hand.

"What happened to your eye." She abruptly cut him off, enunciating each syllable of all five words.

"Well I – "

"She's hitting you again isn't she?"

Ichigo turned around in an attempt to leave the room, but Shinji stood in front of the door.

"Answer her Ichigo." the blonde added in.

Ichigo felt the tears sting in his eyes. _Why were they doing this to him?_

"Look. It was an accident alright? She didn't mean to do it"

"She didn't _mean _to do it, huh?" The woman spoke under her breath.

"Just like s_he didn't mean to _push you down two flights of stairs, breaking your fucking ribs for visiting your sister without telling her. Or like the time _she didn't mean to _fracture your jaw with a frying pan because you came home late from studying with us." The woman spoke, her voice raising as she stood up taking slow steps toward him.

"It's not like that anymore!"

"Then what's it like then Ichigo? You were like family to us, and now we can't even get a hello from you. I haven't seen you in almost three years, just to find out you don't even remember that I work here. Are younot allowed to see us?" Shinji spoke with his jaw clenched.

"Or do you really not want us in your life anymore?" The female added in.

"I-I don't know okay! It's easier when I don't come here. She doesn't get mad at me." Ichigo sobbed.

"Ichigo..."

"She loves me. Why can't you all just accept that?"

"Love isn't bruises and black eyes Ichigo. _We _love you. Your dad loves you. What _thing _has over you isn't love."

"You can't keep living like this."

"One day she's going to go too far, and it'll be too late. Why do you keep protecting her?"

"I love her. I _can't _just abandon her. She needs me and she loves me; she just shows it in a different way."

"That's exactly what you said..." Shinji started then wrapped Ichigo in a tight hug.

"...the last time she put you in the hospital." Lisa finished the sentence hugging Ichigo from behind leaving him in the middle.

Ichigo just closed his eyes, and let the warmth of his old friends consume him. He had missed them all so much, his friends, his family, his old self. He had missed _this _so much. He knew that deep down they were right, and that if he did stay he would end up dead, but he didn't care. All they had left was each other; he wasn't ready to lose that.

He sniffled and quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. "Guys. I have to go. I'm in the middle of an important interview."

They ignored him and continued holding him for just a few moments.

"You're always welcome here Ichigo, you know that. No matter what we've got your back, _we all_ do." Lisa spoke before dearly kissing the back of his head, and stepping back.

"Yeah, Ichi. Don't be a stranger, we miss you." Shinji whispered to him with a tight squeeze.

Ichigo nodded as Shinji opened up the door for him allowing him out. "I'll try to stop by more often."

_No, I won't..._

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

Ichigo's eyes slowly opened, and quickly he glanced over at the alarm clock beside the bed.

_11:__56 AM _the green LED digits read.

It was strange, he hadn't felt so well rested in a while. When the orangette looked down to Rukia was nestled upon his chest, a grin spread on his lips. He leaned down placing a chaste kiss on her forehead, then ran his fingers slowly through her hair as she amicably rested.

As careful as he possibly could be, he slipped from beneath her and got out of the bed. He looked back at her, his grin unintentionally widening as the small woman grabbed a pillow and instead snuggled against that. When he was confident that she wasn't waking up, he quietly stalked to the bathroom and shut the door. He placed his hands flat on the countertop shifting all his weight to his palms, and looked at himself in the eye, just to reflect to himself.

Last night was the first time in months they actually went to bed at the together. It felt like it had been years since they actually laid together and cuddled. Throughout the years their relationship definitely changed. The long talks about nothing turned into painful arguments, kisses turned to punches, and hugs turned into shoves.

In all honesty, they had never made love even once. If Rukia ever wanted sex she would get it from Ichigo whether he wanted it or not. Whenever he had sex with her, he hardly ever got off, he usually found it difficult to keep an erection, and somehow when they finished he always felt as if he were much lesser of a man. If it were up to him, sex would with Rukia would never be an option. He just couldn't do it.

All of that aside, whenever he had broken down like that Rukia was always there for him. When he felt like he was losing his touch with reality, as if his own soul was leaving him and when he couldn't hold on any longer she would save him.

No one understood that.

No one understood the relationship they had and no matter how much he tried to defend her no one ever saw his side. Not every relationship was perfect, they all had good and bad, unfortunately the bad in this relationship left him battered, belittled, and bruised most of the time.

He sighed softly then grabbed his toothbrush and brushed his teeth. Soon after he rinsed his mouth out and grabbed a washcloth, to wash his face. He left their bathroom using the door that led to the hallway, then walked downstairs. As much as he wanted to watch cartoons for a bit, his stomach led him directly to the kitchen.

Since it was almost noon, and Ichigo was feeling lazy he decided on making instant ramen. He filled a pot up with plenty of water, sat it on the stove, then went to the cupboard to grab enough ramen for them both. He sat the dry noodles on the counter, and went to the couch just to give the water enough time to boil.

Ichigo reached for the remote on the coffee table, but hesitated once he saw Rukia's laptop sitting a few inches away from it. He gave a quick glance behind his shoulder to see if she was coming down the stairs, then grabbed the laptop, and opened it up in his lap.

The laptop itself initially belonged to Ichigo for schooling purposes, but once he dropped out he didn't have much need for it and gave it to Rukia. However, she didn't want him using it without her supervision or permission.

The only program she had running was the web browser itself, he needed the internet anyway so he opened it. Even though he wasn't one for snooping, he couldn't help but notice Rukia had his personal e-mail opened up in another tab. He clicked on it and anger soon built up within him, every single thing had been read. From the spam messages, to the notifications from his old school, hell even the ones from Grimmjow had been read.

Why would she not even tell him that Grimmjow wanted him for a second interview when she was the one who made him go to the first one? This was completely crossing the line, he really didn't have any privacy whatsoever.

His inbox hadn't been updated since the last time she checked it, so he refreshed the page and took calming breath as it reloaded. There was only one unread message, and it was sent a few hours ago. Ichigo opened it and wasn't too surprised when it was from Grimmjow. 

**From: **Grimmjow Jaegerjaques

**To: **Ichigo Kurosaki

***********************************************************************************************************************

**Welcome to Jaegerjaques Enterprise.**

13 June 2014 07:02

Hello Ichigo,

I would like to personally welcome you my company, as well as give you my expectations and guidelines since you will be working with me directly. I was very pleased with how well both interviews went. I'm a very intelligent man, but I was surprised to admit that I learned a few new things at our last engagement.

For your protection, I have made arrangements for you to get to and from Tokyo without having to take the subway any longer. As my secretary, I'm going to need to be able to contact you all times and you must be able to take your work home with you. I hand delivered a 'welcoming package' to your doorstep on my way to work. (None of it will be deducted from your pay so long as you do your job.)

I have very high hopes for you Ichigo and expect a lot from you. If you give me your all, I'll be sure appreciate it and give you all I can in return.

I'll see you 0700 Monday morning.

Enjoy your last few days of freedom.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaques

Chief Executive Officer

Jaegerjaques Enterprises Inc.

_For my protection – Who does he think he is? _

With an irritated scoff Ichigo sat the laptop back on the coffee table and shook his head.

_Welcoming package. Great, there's really no turning back now._

He got up from his seat on and padded to the front door, opening it succinctly just to check his door step. Much to his surprise it was a brown, medium-sized box, with a small card with his name in Kanji taped to the top. Ichigo was stuck only in a tank top and boxers, so he quickly grabbed the box and shut the door. The box itself had some weight to it, which did make him all the more curious as to what was inside.

Ichigo sat box on the kitchen countertop – grabbing the small card off the top – then opened up the packaged ramen noodles and sat them in the boiling water. He flipped the card up reading the brief, neatly scribed message.

_'Strawberry'_

_In case you 'mysteriously' don't get my e-mails again, please read this before opening this package. This is a personal welcome, from me to you. We will be working very closely and I would like to start off on the right foot. With that being said I have your best interest in mind, as I'm sure you do with mine so please accept this package and everything in it. If you have any questions contact me, you should have no problem doing that after you open it. In fact, once you have everything set up, e-mail me._

_Sincerely,_

_Grimmjow Jaegerjaques._

Why is he being so nice to me? He doesn't even know me.

Ichigo reduced the heat on the ramen, then grabbed the flavoring and poured it in. He turned around sitting the card next to the box, and proceeded to peel the tape off the top.

Once he pulled the flaps up from the box his jaw dropped. This had to have been some kind of mistake. Ichigo gave a shocking chuckle and shook his head. There was no way in hell any of this was going to fly. 

* * *

"And with that being said, you all are dismissed."

Grimmjow spoke with a faint smirk. Each of the four senior leaders bowed in respect, then left the spacious office in an orderly manner. Once the last man was out and the door closed he walked back behind his desk and sat down with a complacent hum.

That particular day was much better than one before. He officially had a secretary, Shawlong got his number changed, and the overwhelming feeling to drink or punch through walls greatly diminished.

There were no more staff meetings scheduled until after lunch, and since it was Friday he got to dress rather causal compared to his normal business attire. Today a light pink polo with dark denim slim straight jeans deemed much more appropriate.

He logged into his computer and the first thing to pop up was his e-mail. The grin he had on his face instantly grew once he realized who it had sent it. With all the stuff he had given him, Grimmjow was absolutely sure the man would have an entirely new outlook on him.

***********************************************************************************************************************

**From: **Ichigo Kurosaki

**To: **Grimmjow Jaegerjaques

***********************************************************************************************************************

**Is all of this necessary?**

13 June 2014 12:38

Mr. Jaegerjaques,

You gave me a MacBook, an iPad, and a Blackberry – all completely set up and ready for me to use. Are you kidding me?

I don't even know what I'm supposed to do with all this. And this security measure to get me to work? I don't even know if I can agree to that.

I appreciate it all, but I don't understand why you're doing all this. We just met and you hardly even know me.

I really don't know if I can accept all this.

Ichigo Kurosaki

Secretary to Grimmjow Jaegerjaques

Jaegerjaques Enterprises Inc.

***********************************************************************************************************************

Grimmjow shifted back into his seat stroking the scruff of his five o'clock shadow, something wasn't right.

Why _did _he go and do all that for the boy? He didn't do it for his last secretary, hell he didn't even supply her with printer paper let alone a personal MacBook.

Come to think of it, he did something very similar with nearly all his exes. He bought Luppi two cars, the guy before that a fully furnished apartment, and the one before that he flat out gave a loan to start his own business – which failed of course. He never really noticed it before, but this was start to a bad cycle.

It all started with him liking a guy and buying him something extravagant. None of them ever questioned it, but simply took the gifts as they came. Then when he wanted to take the relationship to the next level, something bad always had to happen and right then the relationship end. Over time he would find another guy he like and just start it all over again.

Ichigo was different though, he questioned Grimmjow's authority. He was bold enough to have his own opinion, but still kept himself very reserved. What really caught Grimmjow off guard was the fact that Ichigo asked about his family and his past. No one ever really cared to get that far.

Grimmjow stood up and walked out to the balcony adjacent to his personal bathroom, pulled out a cigarette, lit it up and began smoking. He looked up at the cloudless, clear blue sky and exhaled a lungful of smoke. With just that message, he became completely disgruntled; no man had ever denied a gift from Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. He adopted the habit from his father, and it seemed to work perfectly fine for him; he and his mother had been married for years and honestly Grimmjow could never see them splitting up.

Why was it that Grimmjow couldn't find anyone? He was young, rich, sexy, well-educated, and was a master in the art of seduction. What more could a man want right?

He flicked the excess ash from the lit end and took a lighter drag from it. Then chuckled briefly as he blew the smoke out from his nose.

_What the hell am I thinking?_

He was _not_ going to diminish his confidence, just because of a few slip ups in the past. He didn't even like Ichigo in that way, hell the boy had a girlfriend.

He didn't need to worry about any of that, at least not right now. Perhaps it would be best if just stopped focusing on why his relationships weren't working and just focus on his work. He did have a new secretary coming in Monday that still needed some training and he had a feeling it was going to be a hell of a first day for them both.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

Today was the day Ichigo was supposed to start, unfortunately it was almost ten in the morning and he heard no word from Shawlong and Ichigo wasn't picking up any of his phones.

Grimmjow wouldn't have been as pissed off, if he hadn't invested so much hope for the kid. Being the head of a company, he couldn't just lose his cool, burst into the orangette's home and drag him by his hair to work. He had too much to do that morning.

He had a meeting with the finance division regarding the pay raise of hundreds of people in the current month's end-of-month cycle, had to go look at the location of another building to expand his business, and he had a lunch meeting in less than an hour and a half with business partners he had flying in from Korea.

He had to take phone calls, schedule those meetings, organize when he could do it all, do his own work, and find out where Ichigo was. Grimmjow had the right mind to fire Ichigo as soon as he walked in – assuming he would even show up!

Grimmjow hung up his phone for the umpteenth time, and pushed away from his desk to grab another cup of coffee. It was just his luck that he had finished the pot earlier, and didn't have his secretary there to make another one. Before he could throw his empty mug across the room, his door busted open and Ichigo came running in.

At first glace Grimmjow only noticed a few things, like his tie was crooked, he missed a button while buttoning his shirt, his trousers were wet, his hair was a mess, he was out of breath and slightly sweaty.

"M-Mr. Jaegerjaques...I am...so sorry...I'm late..."

Grimmjow turned away from Ichigo for a moment to sit his coffee mug down. "Oh you're sorry? No, gimme one good reason why I shouldn't fire ya."

When Ichigo didn't respond Grimmjow swiftly turned around to yell at him, but stopped when he saw that the boy was on the verge of passing out.

When he took a better look at him and fine tuned everything about him his mood instantly switched. _His _secretary had been hurt again.

Ichigo was whiter than a ghost, his eyes were pink and puffy, over his swollen left eye was poorly applied concealer, the corner of his mouth was cracked with dried blood, his bottom lip was swollen and his nose was freshly bruised.

"Fuck. Come here and sit down." Grimmjow walked over to him and took him to sit down on the couches he had stationed near the window. This was the second time in less than a few days that the orangette came to him bruised and shaken up. Something was definitely going on that he wasn't aware of. He grabbed a bottle of water and an ice pack out of the mini fridge, he wrapped the ice pack in his handkerchief then gave them to Ichigo.

"Thanks." He said quietly upon cracking open the bottle and drinking nearly half of it. He winced briefly after placing the cold compress to his lip and sighed. "I'm really sorry. Please tell me I still have a job here."

"Ichigo." He said softly.

"I know it seems like I don't want to work here, but I really would like to start working again. I can't stand being at home all day."

"Ichigo." He spoke with a bit more emphasis.

"I promise this will never happen again sir, I swear to my – "

"That's enough!" Grimmjow said sternly. "You're not gonna lose your job, just tell me what happened. Why're ya late and hurt – _again_?"

"Would you believe me if I said I fell down the stairs?" Ichigo replied with a weak smile.

"Christ." Grimmjow chuckled softly with a shake of his head then turned to face the orangette. He undid his tie, then began the process of knotting it properly. "This is no laughin' matter Ichigo. Ya got a really important job, I need ya at one -hundred percent. Talk to me."

The orangette blushed a light pink, and dropped his gaze unto his lap. "I was running a little late this morning and my girlfriend needed a little... help. After I finished helping her I noticed my ride wasn't there, so I just took the subway and I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

Grimmjow stopped fiddling with Ichigo's tie and closed his eyes with a brief sigh. "This is all my fault."

"Whaddya mean? Unless you ordered those three guys to jump me then I don't see how this is any of your fault Mr. Jaegerjaques."

"No. Shawlong went to your door and knocked on it for a little while, but I told him to leave since no one was answerin'. He went lookin' for ya, and when ya saw that he wasn't there..." Grimmjow felt absolutely stupid.

Ichigo placed a hand on his knee squeezing it lightly, Grimmjow opened his eyes to see the orangette flashing a comforting smile. "If anyone's to blame it's me. I chose my girlfriend over work, and it won't happen again."

Grimmjow wanted to be upset with himself, Shawlong, Ichigo and his damn girlfriend but honestly couldn't. Bruised, bloody, swollen, or whatever the kid had a really charming smile. Grimmjow snickered and finished the knot of Ichigo's tie.

"Just don't let it happen again or next time it'll be me at your door. I'm not as 'kind' as Shawlong is when it comes to privacy." The smiling was definitely contagious, as soon he felt a grin spread on his lips. "Gimme the concealer ya used so I can fix up your eye."

"I don't have it with me, it's my girlfriend's."

Grimmjow's cyan eyebrow cocked up. "Then how did you put it on if you got jumped _after_ you left home?"

"Well uh... – she um... – came with me to... the subway. And ran for help...then when the help arrived the guys ran away. Then she did my eye and left. She had to meet with her brother which is why she couldn't take me. In her own car. Yeah."

As sketchy as that entire story sounded Grimmjow really had no choice to believe it, there was really no other option as to why he was so beat up. Unless she was responsible for it.

_Heh, as if. What're the odds of that? A woman wouldn't be able to do all that._

"Alright. I'll call Shawlong and have him pick up some concealer. If you wouldn't mind make me another pot of coffee while I catch ya up on what ya missed this morning. Can ya do that?"

Ichigo gave a salute with an eager grin. "Yes-sir!"

When the boy got up to walk to the coffee maker, Grimmjow noticed that he was limping. There was seriously something that he was hiding, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Lots of sugar – "

"Lots of cream, I know Mr. Jaegerjaques." Ichigo looked back with a smile.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

Grimmjow had been finishing up an important call when he heard a knock on his door. He turned the phone away momentarily, and answered the rapping allowing the person inside. Ichigo nervously peeked his head inside the door, and flashed Grimmjow a look.

Over the past month of Ichigo working with him, their relationship definitely grew stronger. They could easily finish each others sentences and even communicate without speaking a single word. Grimmjow jerked his head granting his secretary entrance, and cracked a faint grin when the orangette walked in and sat on his desk with his iPad in hand.

"Ah, _si_. _Muchas gracias, señor. Chau."_

Ichigo picked up few M&amp;M's from the candy dish Grimmjow had on his desk, then slipped a yellow one past his lips. "Potential partner from... Italy?"

Grimmjow shook his head sitting his phone down on next to his keyboard. "Nah, haven't heard back from her yet. It's one of the Spanish reps ya gave my number to. Apparently, they were talking about some– "

"Meeting to discuss a possible merger? Already scheduled Mr. Jaegerjaques." Ichigo smirked then popped a blue M&amp;M into his mouth.

"Nice work. And thought I toldja not to call me that."

"And I told you not to put your feet on your desk. You don't put your feet where you eat, that's disgusting. Do you realize how many germs are on the bottom of your fancy kajillion yen shoes?" Ichigo 0shoved the man's feet off his desk and Grimmjow couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

"Alright, alright. Jeez."

"I won't call you by your first name because I respect you as my superior. No matter how you want to see it, I work for you."

"Ya say ya respect me, yet you've got your ass on my desk. Again."

"That's different Mr. Jaegerjaques." Ichigo's smirk grew then he bit a green M&amp;M in half and held the other between his fingers.

"Anyway, I got all your paperwork filed. Your meetings and appointments for next week are all set up. I passed out the paychecks and sent everyone else home. Those who are working the weekend are already here and have been briefed already." He tossed the other half of the green M&amp;M into his mouth and surveyed Grimmjow's astonished face.

_I've got to give this kid a raise._

"Are ya asking me if ya can go home?"

"Well, I didn't do all that just to work overtime tonight."

"Hm, alright. Just one more thing though. Do ya have the list ready of interns coming in for the newcomers brief on Monday?"

Ichigo gave a defeated look and mouthed 'fuck', then ran his fingers through his hair. "I thought that was an entire two weeks away." He began shaking his head with his eyes closed, then spoke quietly to himself. "_Baka._"

"Ichigo chill. It doesn't need to be ready until Monday." He picked up a brown M&amp;M from the dish and pressed it to Ichigo's lips with a smile. He hated whenever the orangette got like this, he was always too hard on himself.

Ichigo accepted the candy into his mouth and smiled faintly in return. "I have the applications saved on my MacBook. I'll just start sorting through all of them tonight and – "

"Or you can come to my home and get some dinner, while I help you out with that. I'm sure Rukia won't mind if you're a little late gettin' home."

"I dunno... I mean...W-what about Shawlong? I can't make him wait on me like that."

"I'll take you home myself."

"Still..."

"Look, if Rukia has a problem with it. I'll explain it to her myself. There were over a thousand applicants, there's no way you'll get it done alone, by Monday, without losin' your mind."

"Okay, but you really have to vouch for me if she asks. I'll go get my things ready and call her to let her know." Ichigo's entire mood changed as he got up and left Grimmjow's office.

Grimmjow wasn't exactly the best people reader, but something really wasn't right with Ichigo. He always dressed in long sleeves, turtlenecks, and sweaters; it would be fine if the weather wasn't still in the triple digits. Even when the air conditioning went out for a week and a half Grimmjow made it optional to dress casual, Ichigo however still wore Henlys with undershirts all week.

He could tell Ichigo was wearing concealer almost all the time, and to be honest he felt like Ichigo was lying to him about how he got each bruise. If it wasn't him getting jumped in whatever location, he walked into this, or fell into that. Grimmjow's personally favorite line was 'I didn't even know how I got that.' As much digging as he had Shawlong do, the man couldn't find any evidence to back up what Ichigo was saying.

As soon as Ichigo got home from work he just stayed in his condo all day, with the exception of trips to get food, and what not. Everything about Ichigo's situation seemed like a domestic violence commercial.

He turned on his laptop and typed into the search bar 'Symptoms of male victims to domestic abuse', but before he hit enter he really thought about it being a possibility.

Grimmjow had met Rukia a few times before; she was half Ichigo's size and looked like she couldn't even open a jar of pickles by herself. Men don't typically get abused and if they did they're physically stronger and have that upper advantage.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques are you ready?" Ichigo poked his head into the door with his laptop bag strapped across his body.

Grimmjow pressed backspace deleting everything he had typed and got up.

_There's no way._

"Che. Lets go."

* * *

_Translations:_

Ah, _si_. _Muchas gracias, señor. Chau – __O__h yes. Thank you very much. Goodbye._

_**AN: Ha ha, the plot thickens! Turns out Ichigo might be going crazy while trying to keep his relationship together. And from the looks of it, Grimmjow can't find out what exactly why his relationships keep failing and he doesn't believe that men can be victims. Oh how wrong he is...**_

_**In the next chapter would you all like to know why Ichigo showed up to his first day the way he did? It could be a lot more interesting than you think. Oh and **__**if enough people can correctly guess who Ichigo's female friend is, I may find it in my heart to sprinkle a little smutty goodness into the next chapter. **_

_**Well that's all I have for now! Rate and review if you can, and don't forget to I'll answer any questions, and accept any criticism. **_

_**Thanks for reading, **_

_**~Shawn**_


	4. The Plan & The King

"Welcome to chateau de Grimm." Grimmjow spoke upon unlocking the door to his luxury apartment.

Ichigo gave a smack of his lips with a playful grin, then tugged the black infinity scarf he had around his neck all day off and tossing it onto the couch. Faint pink claw marks stained his pale neck, and once again curiosity pawed at Grimmjow.

He pulled his personal cell phone from his pocket just to glance at the screen, with a worried look hitting his brow then slid the device back into his pocket. He did that quite often, and Grimmjow could never figure out why. For the sake of keeping his secretary comfortable, he wasn't going to berate him with questions just yet; he had a plan.

"Everything okay?" Grimmjow spoke upon tugging the silk, red-velvet colored tie from his collar.

"Oh. Uh, y-yeah. Everything's... great."

"Ya don't have to lie to me Ichigo."

The orangette lowered his head with guilty look on his face. "Mr. Jaegerjaques I didn't mean to..."

"Oi." Grimmjow closed the short distance between them and lightly gripped Ichigo's chin between his thumb and crooked index finger, raising his face up from the ground. "Quit steppin' on your lip, ya look up when speakin' to someone. Especially if it's me, yeah?"

Ichigo folded his bottom lip between his teeth and nodded his head, his skin instantly becoming warmer. His light honey eyes stared up at him and his natural blanch cheeks darkened to a soft crimson. Grimmjow felt his heart quicken slightly at the sight beneath him.

"And stop bitin' your lip. I told ya about that..." Grimmjow whispered softly, while bringing his thumb up beneath his lip to faintly trace over it.

"Yes sir..." He spoke as if he were out of breath himself.

_Damn kid..._

Grimmjow could feel his trousers getting tight, he had to get away from the situation before it escalated any further. "Hungry?"  
Ichigo shrugged his shoulders, the crimson on his cheeks brightening to a faint scarlet.

"I'll whip somethin' up in a bit. Why don't ya go get comfortable and get to work? My office should be unlocked."

"Okay." Ichigo slid his shoes off and headed toward his office. His posture more relaxed compared to what it was when he stepped inside.

Once he left Grimmjow deeply sighed and walked upstairs to his bedroom. Before he could do anything he desperately needed to calm down.

Throughout the short period he had Ichigo at his side teaching him the ways of business _and_ confidence, he knew dangerous feelings were developing for him. He cared more for him than he should have, did more for him than he should have, and definitely was attracted to him far more than he should have been.

Sadly, Ichigo's heart already belonged to someone. Generally when someone is in a relationship it affects them physically and emotionally; of course Ichigo's case was different. There was no life in his tired eyes, happiness to his dry laughter or any truth to his feigned smile. He was struggling with something and Grimmjow and if Rukia wasn't aware or even helping him with it then _she _may have been the problem.

He stepped out of his work clothes leaving them in a messy pile on his bathroom floor, then turned the dials to his shower. Rather than letting the water heat up, he stepped in letting the icy blast hit his heated flesh. He wrapped his hand around his stiff cock, exhaling sharply as the water cooled him down then let it steadily fall limp between his legs. He could not pleasure himself from thoughts of secretary, no matter how long it was since he last got off. It wasn't right; Ichigo wasn't his.

_**XOXOXOXOXOXOXO**_

After a decent fifteen minutes, Grimmjow hopped out of the shower with a clear head, and tossed on whatever seemed comfortable for the time being. He couldn't spend his usual two hours soaking up the addictive feel of water assaulting his flesh for two reasons. One the temperature of the water was making his lips as blue as his pubes and two he had to get started on the insidious little plan of his.

He turned off his cell phone, sliding it in his nightstand drawer, and walked to his study/office. It was the size of a normal bedroom, but was set up in a traditional home-office fashion. An entire wall was home to a fully staffed mahogany bookshelf. The wall opposite rested framed pictures of him with his family, fellow businessmen, as well as his degrees and certifications, all of which hung over a brick wood-burning fireplace.

Opposite of the door sat a reasonably sized desk, which had neatly organized stacks of papers, writing utensils, his laptop in the center, a small emptied ashtray to the right, and a bottle of aged scotch with it's matching crystal glass to the left. Finally in toward the center, where Ichigo was mindlessly working was a small pristine black sofa which was facing the fireplace.

Grimmjow leaned against the doorframe, silently watching the other man work in peace. He had never had _anyone _that was so dedicated to working with him. It was refreshing to say the least.

He cleared his throat quietly, but loud enough to get his attention and flashed a small grin. "Workin' hard?"

"Sure, lets go with that." He cracked a smirk in return.

_Smart ass._

He pushed himself off the door with a brusque snicker, and walked over to him. Ichigo's legs were pressed together, and positioned to his side, with his elbow propped comfortably upon the arm of his couch. He looked completely unstrained; it wasn't very often Grimmjow got to see him like this.

When he made a move to sit down, Ichigo tensed and began to move so he could sit upright. The blunet shook his head and sat next to him propping his legs upon to his lap. "You're fine, just show me what you're workin' on."

With a very faint smile he angled his laptop for Grimmjow to see. "I managed to get half of the first spreadsheet sorted through, but I've still got nine more pages to go."

"_We've _got nine more pages to go. Take the first five and e-mail me the rest."

Grimmjow got up, sitting Ichigo's legs back into their prior position and went to his desk. He opened up his own laptop, powered it on, and opened the e-mail that Ichigo had sent him. Just looking at the spreadsheet for a moment, he instantly got a headache. He pulled the pack of cigarettes from his desk, slipped one from the carton and placed it between his lips. Before he could even light it, he glanced over at Ichigo who was glaring at him with his lips pressed in a flat line. "It isn't even lit. Gimme a break kid."

Ichigo's eyes only narrowed, "They're disgusting, very bad for you, and they make you smell like...well... smoke!"

"What the fuck else are they gonna make me smell like? Cherry blossoms? Pff..." Grimmjow huffed and flicked his lighter to ignite the roll of tobacco.

Ichigo crossed his arms petulantly with his signature scowl contorting his face. Grimmjow took a light drag from his cigarette, and glanced over at his disgruntled subordinate. He muffled the soft laugh that tickled him, but when he saw annoyed brown eyes rolling it got much worse. The smoke he inhaled caught up with him and he began to cough, which only made him laugh even harder. Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes as he got up from his desk.

It was priceless.

"K-Keep on workin' kid." He spoke with his dying laughter, then closed his laptop. "I can't do this right now, I'll get started on dinner." He took a light drag from his cigarette and left his small office, his laughter now a hearty chuckle.

* * *

When Grimmjow finally left him alone, Ichigo went back to staring blankly at the spreadsheet. He wasn't able to concentrate on it before Grimmjow came and bothered him, and probably wasn't going to be able to concentrate now either. He felt something strange after Grimmjow touched him so gently and _forced_ him to look up into his eyes. His eyes were usually so reassuring and cool, but this time they were more dangerous and tempting. He could've gotten lost just staring into them, they made him feel weak and strangely excited.

This wasn't the first time he had gotten a hard-on from Grimmjow, however it was the first time in his life he had ever been aroused by another man before. There was definitely no shame in it in essence, but it didn't make him feel any less guilty about feeling that way about someone other than Rukia.

Ichigo knew that Grimmjow preferred men to women, but he had seen the man's ex-fiancee. Luppi was extremely feminine looking but he was without a doubt drop dead gorgeous. There was no way in hell Grimmjow would be even _remotely_ attracted to him, he was pasty, had odd colored hair, ridiculous freckles, and was riddled in god-awful scars all over his body.

"**What the fuck're ya talkin' about? Have ya seen the way he looks at ya?"**  
An oddly well-known voice echoed in his head; it wasn't the usual voice that constantly reminded him of his insecurities, but a more uplifting one. Blunt, but still uplifting.  
**"Forget all that bullshit, Grimm don't touch nobody else like that and he damn sure don't look at nobody the way he was just lookin' at ya."**

Now that he really gave it some thought, he figured that all of it was true. At work Grimmjow was cold, pitiless, and in fact had no problem with firing an entire section of workers if they had been unneccessarily costing him money.

No one dared to speak to him or even e-mail him directly, Ichigo was everyone's go-to-guy when it came to contacting Grimmjow. Yet somehow, Ichigo was in the man's house, on his couch, using an expensive laptop that _he _had gotten him. He could guarantee that absolutely _no one_ in the office had been in this position before.

Ichigo wanted to_ think_ Grimmjow cared for him, but in reality he knew Rukia was the only one who could ever care for him in that way.

"**Grimm ain't yer enemy. Yer queen is the one takin' all yer pawns and even tried to get rid'a yer last knight. Yet, I'm still here. I never left ya _King."_**

_King…  
_

The voice he heard helped him get through a lot when he was growing up. He thought of it as, himself being the king and adversity his queen. Now, it seemed that there was no king, and _Rukia_ was the queen or in otherwords his adversary and much like in his life, in chess the queen held much more power than the king. For that reason he figured that his power had been stripped away and given to _her_, but what he failed to realize before was that without the king, the queen was powerless. His life was nothing more than a large-scale version of mental chess.

Being around Grimmjow all day, every day definitely changed him. He felt bolder, more compelled to fight, the urge to submit and fold under pressure diminished. Rukia hated every bit of it, and Ichigo knew she did. When she hurt him, he didn't let it get to him as deeply. He couldn't just wallow in self-hatred, he had a newfound purpose. That fire inside him was small, but it was there.

With his mind finally out of the dark, dim, despairing clouds Ichigo began working once again. The king was in the process of making a triumphant return and he definitely had a few new moves.

_**XOXOXOXOXOXO**_

Ichigo rubbed his forehead, and pushed his laptop away; he had enough of reading names from a spreadsheet for a while. He stood up from Grimmjow's sofa, and stalked to the kitchen where Grimmjow was putting the final touches on their dinner. He grabbed a wooden stool from the bar which overlooked the kitchen, and rested his face on the cool marble surface.

"Ugh."

Grimmjow glanced over his shoulder with a chuckle, "Who pissed in your cereal?"

"I've been sorting through those applications for over an hour and you still aren't done cooking yet." Ichigo looked up with a scowl.

"And stop asking me that, you know I hate it."

"Damn kid, ya make me sound so awful. Here I thought ya _loved _workin' with me." The blunet snickered, and turned off the stove with an audible click. After surveying the entree inside of the pot, he walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a dark-red wine bottle.

Ichigo snorted. "Please. You do realize, I'm requesting overtime for this right?"

"Too bad I don't pay ya by the hour." He grabbed two wine glasses from the cupboard and sat them in front of Ichigo. He pulled a corkscrew from one the drawers and took a seat next to Ichigo at the bar. Once the cork was noisily removed, Grimmjow began filling both the glasses with a deep carmine tinted wine.

"Taste it."

"Mr. Jaegerjaques...I don't...I mean – I really shouldn't."

"One glass isn't gonna hurt ya Ichigo, and if ya really don't like it I can get ya somethin' else."

He tentatively grabbed the glass and got a whiff of it. By no means was he an expert on wine, but he did know a thing or two; it definitely had a light floral aroma, but was masked by the smell of grapes. He swirled it inside the glass, then pressed the glass to his lips and sipped it.

"So?" Grimmjow asked, his glass completely empty.

Ichigo shrugged nonchalantly, as he finished his glass. He licked his lips with a small hum of contentment then sat his glass back on the bar. "What did you say this was?"

"My own personal blend of black grape wine; _Cabernet __S__auvignon." _Grimmjow spoke, with a faint French drawl.

"And we're gonna be drinking this with…?"

"Pour yourself another glass yeah?" He gave a shady grin, and got up from the bar.

He rolled his eyes for the umpteenth that evening, and filled his glass as he was told to.

Ichigo got a lot cozier around Grimmjow in this type of setting as the blunet was completely different outside of work. He was much more playful – flirtatious one could say, and he was unbelievably generous. Going over to Grimmjow's after work for any reason over the past couple weeks had become more of a routine than anything else. Regardless of it all, Ichigo tried his hardest to keep things very professional between them.

Being the lightweight he was, the wine had hit his system in minutes and instantly he felt much more carefree, with a nice warm sensation building in his stomach. He sipped casually at his chilled beverage, with his eyes watching Grimmjow's every move.

Unlike Ichigo who stayed in his work attire, Grimmjow had changed into a loose v-neck that snugly hugged his biceps, a pair of baggy gym shorts with long black argyle socks. His natural waves of ultramarine were no longer combed over, but instead a tidied mess. His thick-framed black glasses were no longer resting upon his face either. Comfortable and youthful.

Ichigo had never dared to look at anyone aside from Rukia, but for some reason he just couldn't tear his eyes away from Grimmjow; there was no denying it he was very good looking.

Grimmjow reached up to grab a few bowls from a high cabinet, which unintentionally caused his shirt to ride up. Ichigo caught a brief glance at the small patch of his toned, sun-kissed lower back, and from the looks of it a tattoo which was partially concealed by the thick waistband of his underwear.

He could feel his face heat up as his eyes trailed down to his butt which was perfectly outlined through his loose shorts.

Before he could stop himself he muttered a soft, 'Oh'. Immediately he covered his mouth, and instantly snapped his eyes up to find Grimmjow looking back at him.

"Heh, somethin's caught your eye huh?" The blunet flashed a half-smirk, and sat the dinnerware down on the counter.

He felt all color drain from his face, as Grimmjow called him out. "What do you mean? I mean, I didn't really see anything. It was just uh – "

"Ah, I gotcha. Lemme give ya a better look."

Ichigo knew he should've _wanted_ looked away, but he really didn't care. He just wanted to keep his eyes locked onto him. The blunet tugged the band of his underwear down just slightly showing the pale skin of his rear end, and with the other hand he brought up his shirt to fully reveal his tattoo.

His curious eyes scanned the black, gothic style number six etched into his smooth skin. A strange desire swept over him, so he stood up and walked to the other side of the bar. Before Grimmjow could properly readjust his clothes, Ichigo lightly trailed his fingers along the black ink. For a man, Grimmjow's skin was quite smooth and soft.

_Is he this smooth everywhere?_

Ichigo shook his head as soon as the lewd thought popped into his head, then leaned back resting his lower back against the counter top.

"What's the story behind it?"

Grimmjow gave a coy grin, upon grabbing their dinnerware, and walking back to the stove. "Heh, believe it or not. Got it after I graduated high school. I was ranked sixth in a class of three hundred. Long story short a small group of us thought it would be a great idea to get our class ranks tatted somewhere while we were drunk." He paused for a moment, to let out a brief snicker. "My dad is still pretty damn pissed about it."

"I can't believe it, you of all people – with a tattoo. I didn't even know you had one."

Grimmjow handed warm, steaming bowl to Ichigo, with a contemptuous chuckle.

"There's a quite few things you have to learn about me kid." He grabbed a pair of plain, black, plastic chopsticks from a drawer and handed them to Ichigo.

He gratefully bowed his head, and positioned his utensils betwixt his fingers. "Oh, Mr. Jaegerjaques...I know much more about you, than you would think."

Grimmjow just looked over at him, with his lips curved in his infamous half-smirk. "Either prove it or shut up and eat."

"Make me. **Grimmjow.**"

For a moment they both just stood there in silence, an antithetical, palpable tension filling the air. Grimmjow took a half step forward invading Ichigo's personal space. The orangette's eyes shut as he got a strong intake of the man's scent. He felt so flustered yet so excited for _something_ to happen, it was all so intoxicating.

_Checkmate._

* * *

Grimmjow had heard his name from other's mouths in many different ways, but he had _never_ heard it sound so damn lustrous coming from someone. It was the first time Ichigo had called him by his first name, _and _gotten so bold with him. If that wasn't arousing he didn't know what was.

He took another step closer backing and placed his hands flat on either side of him. Ichigo's milk chocolate eyes practically melted under his intense gaze. He pressed his body to Ichigo's letting his growing erection brush up against his thigh, eliciting a soft gasp from him. Ichigo reached up placing his hand to Grimmjow's chest his fingers feebly grasping yet pushing at his him.

_Fuck the plan…_

Grimmjow slowly leaned his head down brushing his forehead to Ichigo's, the orangette's warm, sweet breath hitting his lips. He brought a hand up off the counter and up underneath his chiseled jaw. Ichigo raised his chin up to meet Grimmjow. Before their lips could connect a soft vibration coming from between them snapped them both back to reality.

The blunet brushed his thumb over Ichigo's lower lip once again then pulled back. "Later. Go answer that." His voice deeper and more throaty than he meant for it to be.

Ichigo hesitated momentarily his eyes shutting just for a moment before he pushed off the counter and sat back at the bar. "I would much rather eat and see where it goes from there."

_Whoa. Who the fuck am I even talkin' to?_

"Aw, yeah?" Grimmjow grabbed his warm bowl in one hand with his chopsticks in the other.

Ichigo shrugged with a smirk of his own, then took a bit of food into his mouth. A soft hum in satisfaction leaving him as he chewed and swallowed.

"Wow. This meat is really… tender. _Kohitsuji?"_

"Kobe beef. Ya never have it before?"

He shook his head taking in another bite along with a few sips of the red wine. "This is incredible."

Grimmjow smirked helping himself to his own food with a few sips of wine as well. "Only the best."

Ichigo rolled his eyes once again and afterwards, a comfortable silence filled the air as they cleared the bowls just to refill them with a second helping. It didn't take long for them to finish nearly half the pot of stir-fry along with a _second_ bottle of wine.

Grimmjow had been drinking wine since he was a curious adolescent on his family's vineyard, so he hadn't even reached a decent buzz. Ichigo on the other hand had his face flat on the bar one arm stretched out while the other covered his face, with an almost faint snore leaving him.

He only wanted to get the boy buzzed enough to tell him what was truly bothering him, but it seemed to have gone too far.

Grimmjow chuckled softly at the sight then quickly tidied up the mess he had created, by sitting all the dishes in the sink for his maid and putting all the leftovers in the refrigerator. He picked Ichigo up, hauling him up over his shoulder and turned the lights off to the kitchen. An eerie feeling prickled him as he realized just how light Ichigo was. For a man his height and age, he shouldn't have been so underweight.

_Is that why he dresses in so many layers?_

"Oi~ why'se e'rything upside-down_?" _Ichigo suddenly slurred.

"I'm carryin' ya upstairs kid." Grimmjow chuckled as he began walking up the stairs.

"But, Mis'r Jaeg-Jaeg- wha'ever we still got some work ta-do. Spreeeadsheeeets~"

"Enough. I said we're goin' upstairs and gettin' ya in bed. I'll finish up the spreadsheets myself. Ya gonna argue with me?"

Ichigo suddenly became quiet as they made it to his bedroom and he was laid down. Grimmjow looked down at him to see that he had clocked out for good. He pulled a bottle of water from his minifridge and sat it down on the nightstand, then he went back downstairs to his office so he could proficiently finish up their task for the night.

_**XOXOXOXOXOXO**_

Within a good two and a half hours, half a pack of cigarettes, and a few glasses of scotch Grimmjow finished up the last of the applications with a heavy yawn, then sent them to Ichigo's e-mail so he could do his secretarial finishing touches.

He shut his laptop down, and walked back upstairs to his bedroom to find Ichigo face-up spread eagle, with his chest steadily raising and lowering.

_Cute._

He climbed into bed next to him, and before he could even lay his head down he could feel the intense heat radiating from his fully covered body.

He sat him up against the headboard and silently began to unbutton his dress shirt. After peeling that off he reached down to grab the bottom of his long-sleeved thermal and was surprised to see hazy brown eyes looking back at him with weak hands pushing his own away.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques please don't..." The soft whisper he spoke in much still a bit slow.

"Kid it's alright, I won't try nothin'. Yer practically sweatin' through all this." He clutched the bottom Ichigo's thermal and began to pull it up.

A quiet sob with a more stronger push at his hands stopped him. He tilted his head slightly and brought a hand up to wipe the tears that rolled down his right cheek.

"She's gonna be so mad at me if someone sees."

_If someone sees…  
_  
"P-please, I don't want y-you to see what she's done." His tears now a steady flow from his beautiful eyes.

_She…_

He adamantly pushed Ichigo's arms aside and brought his shirt up and over his head without any further hesitation. Even with the natural lighting of the overly bright moon, Grimmjow could see every single scar that marred almost every inch of his smooth torso. The longer he looked, the more blemishes he found. When his eyes scanned over the large bruise over his ribs, things began to slowly piece together.

Anxiety. Bruises. Covering up. Estranging his family. Dropping out of school. Ridiculous excuses. Low self-esteem. Sleep deprevity. Lack of weight. EVERYTHING.

"Rukia's been hurting ya hasn't she?"

Ichigo looked up at him with utter hoplessness in his pink, teary eyes then back down into his lap.

"Answer me!" Grimmjow growled with wrath laced in his tone.

The red-head trembled and weakly attempted to catch his breath his arms wrapping around his torso in attempt to hide himself.

"S-she didn't mean to…" His breathing began to pick up even further, his small arms coiling around his head. "N-No it was just an a-a-accid-dent." His eyes opened widely and the tears suddenly stopped, but his breathing progressed to rushed hyperventilating. "S-she – I-I – No!"

Grimmjow didn't know what to do as Ichigo brokedown in front of him. He had seen people crumble before his feet, but he never cared enough to do anything about it. The anger that boiled his blood dissipated and an overwhelming feeling to comfort and console the man in front of him consumed him. He didn't know exactly what to say, or do to make Ichigo calm down so he let his instinct take over.

He leaned himself closer and wrapped his arms around Ichigo to scoop him up into a tight embrace. When the red-head was carefully pressed to his chest, Grimmjow softly began to whisper into his ear.

"Au clair de la lune,  
Mon ami, Pierrot,  
Prete-moi ta plume  
Pour ecrire un mot!  
Ma chandelle est morte,  
Je n'ai plus de feu;  
Ouvre-moi ta porte,  
Pour l'amour de Dieu."

Once Grimmjow finished the first verse Ichigo's breathing slowed down to deep intakes of air which in turn stopped his trembling.

"Au clair de la lune,  
Pierrot repondit:  
"Je n'ai pas de plume,  
Je suis dans mon lit;  
Va chez la voisine,  
Je crois qu'elle y est;  
Car dans la cuisine,  
On bat le briquet."

After he finished there was pregnant pause, and soon after he felt Ichigo embrace him in return. Grimmjow never wanted to let him leave his arms, he never wanted to see Ichigo like that ever again. Ichigo loosened his arms on him after a few minutes pulling back slightly to look at him. His eyes puffed up, pink and dry, but there was actual life to his deep hazelnut orbs.

Ichigo smiled weakly. "What was that? It sounded beautiful."

" '_Au __clair __de la lune.'_ A nursery rhyme _M__ére _used to sing to me whenever I had nightmares."

"But...I wasn't haven't a nightmare."

"From the looks of it, ya been livin' on for quite sometime." Grimmjow sighed softly. "I can't let ya go back there."

"Grimmjow, I can't just not go back. I don't have anyone or anything. I-I don't even have anywhere else to go."

Grimmjow's jaw clenched and he slowly shook his head. "None'a that is true. Ya got me. In fact, you're stayin' with me until further notice."

The smile he beared faltered, his eyes back down to stare into Grimmjow's chest.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques… you don't have to do that. I can't just leave her like that, she needs help."

Grimmjow's hand fell down to Ichigo's lower back, the other faintly caressing his cheek and raising his eyes back up.

"Ya shouldn't have to deal with slowly losing yourself to this woman. I can get 'er help, but only if ya tell me absolutely everything and..."

Ichigo tilted his head slightly to nuzzle Grimmjow's palm. "And?"

"Ya gotta come live with me. If ya can't leave for your own sake, leave for her sake."

"Wow, I can't even – you would really do that...for us?"

"No." The left corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smirk. "I would do it for _you_."

"I don't know what to say." Ichigo's pale cheeks glowing a wispy carnation-pink. "Can I talk it over with her tomorrow?"

"I mean ya could, but only under one condition."

Ichigo's face wrinkled into a scowl, his eyes rolling once again. "What could you possibly want now?"

"Just don't mention I did this..."

Grimmjow leaned down abruptly swooping his mouth in a soft kiss. He expected Ichigo to fight it, but when he wrapped an arm around his neck to deepen it with a soft shudder Grimmjow held him tighter. The kiss was everything he expected it to be with him. His lips were soft, and tasted of red-wine. The smell of his faint cologne, tinged with natural scent invaded his nostrils. Everything was far from perfect, but somehow it was still so..._perfect._

Grimmjow pulled away from the kiss and for some reason he was completely out of breath. When he opened his eyes to see Ichigo passed out in his arms once again he grinned. The swirl of emotions mixed with the amount of alcohol still in his system must have been too much. They would have to work out the details later on that morning, everything was starting to catch up to him as well. He was happy to have finally have Ichigo in his arms, and hopefully now they both could get the rest they needed.

* * *

**_Criticize, comment, question, favorite, &amp; follow._**

_**Thanks for reading, **_

**_~Shawn_**


	5. The Night That Changed Everything

_**AN: **Hey guys! It's been awhile I know, but university has been kicking my ass and there's a lot going on where I'm stationed at. Things have slowed down though, so I went ahead and typed this one up. I even put a little something in this chapter to urge you guys to forgive me~ Anyways happy reading!  
_

* * *

_Ichigo opened his eyes and quickly realized that something definitely wasn't right. For starters, he was standing on a rooftop in Karakura Town and everything seemed to be the same, but somehow...perverted. The sky wasn't blue, the buildings were inverted, and whenever he looked down he couldn't even see the ground._

_He tried to yell out for someone, but nothing left his mouth when he tried to s peak. He turned around, from the edge of the high skyscraper he was standing on and jumped to the adjoining rooftop. He had jumped higher than he meant too and at the rate he was going to land he was sure to hurt himself so he tucked his head in and agilely landed. He stood up, checked his arms and legs to verify that he wasn't hurt and silently sighed._

_**I'm naked. I somehow have superpowers. But I can't fucking speak. Awesome.**_

_He continued to venture out in the inverse wasteland in hopes that he would somehow find a way out or at least someone to help him. It seemed like he was walking an infinite amount of steps, as each time he looked back it appeared that he was right back where he started. He closed his eyes tight in frustration and fisted a hand through his hair. _

_Now wasn't the time for his mind to be playing games with him. _

_When he finally opened his eyes, he was no longer in the same place but now in front of a building completely made of mirrors. Ichigo took a few steps toward the mirror and almost didn't recognize whom was staring back at him. It was him except his reflection had no bruises, scars, or blemishes. His body was decently roped in lean muscle, and his skin shined with a healthy glow. His hair was almost down to his shoulders and even his eyes were full of life.  
_

_Ichigo hesitantly placed his hand on the mirror to meet with his reflection and closed his eyes again. A strange aura of confidence prickled his skin; it wasn't everyday he felt this good about his self-image. He opened his eyes to see a small dark figure behind him in his reflection, instinctively he snapped his head back, but no one was to be found. He turned back around, and the mirrors had disappeared and a small blue haired boy took their place; this however was no ordinary boy. _

_He had crystalline azure eyes, chubby rosy red cheeks, with a broken external jawbone down the right side of his face, a hole in his abdomen and he was only dressed in a white hakama with wooden sandals. _

_The child reached for Ichigo's hand and pointed behind him with a very alarmed look. Ichigo looked back and instantly froze once he saw the buildings behind him were starting to collapse. If that weren't enough the dark figure he saw before had returned and was rushing toward him. The figure was a petite female wearing a short black kimono, her face was completely darkened out, and in place of fingers she had long razor sharp talons._

"_Come on!" The young blunet spoke, his voice strangely familiar. The kid adamantly squeezed onto his hand as he led them to the edge of the building, once he finally let go he jumped to the next rooftop. He barely managed to catch the ledge with his small hands, but quickly scrambled up to the top. _

"_You have to jump Ichigo! We're almost out of here!" _

_Ichigo turned back and saw that the building he was standing on was starting collapse as well, and the dark figure was getting closer by the second. When he turned back toward the little boy, the distance between them both had dramatically increased. Either way it seemed like he was done for and he honestly didn't know what to do. He was completely paralyzed and couldn't find the strength to move._

"_No! Don't do this! Don't look back! Just jump you can trust me!" The child yelled out._

_Behind the small boy was an inverted, carbon copy of Ichigo with a dark, malicious grin on his face. He tried to yell out to the child that something was behind him, forgetting that he had a voice, but by then it was too late. The inverted Ichigo snatched up the kid and began to run away. _

"_No!" Ichigo yelled out with his voice finally being heard._

_Without a second glance back he launched himself onto the other building and sprinted after the abducted child. "Get back here!" He growled out in a rush to catch up to his inverted persona. _

_After a while the white haired male stopped in his tracks, and sat the blunet boy back on the ground. Ichigo caught up to him and instantly threw his fist toward him, but the inverted copy was gone in a flash, and somehow ended up behind Ichigo._

"_I-I ain't yer enemy King." He choked out. _

_Ichigo whipped himself around to see that his inverted persona had been impaled by the dark woman's claws; he went to Ichigo's blind spot and protected him. _

"_She is." He said with a weak smirk, blood now dripping from the corners of his mouth. Ichigo caught a glance at the woman's face since she happened to get close enough. _

_Ice filled his veins. _

_It was Rukia, and from the looks of it she looked very high. Her plum eyes bloodshot, dilated, and hollow, dried blood was pooled underneath her nose, and her lips dry, chapped and contorted into a wry grin. She was destroying everything around him, and Ichigo was absolutely sure he was next on her list. _

_The little boy tugged at Ichigo's hand once again, and began petulantly stomping his feet. "C'mon Ichigo! We're almost there!" He looked back at his inverted persona and shook his head. _

"_I'm not leaving **Shirosaki** here to die." _

"_G-go with him King, ya ain't strong 'nuff for this battle yet! Go with Blue he'll keep ya safe! I'll be okay, I ain't goin' no-nowhere!" Rukia twisted her hand in Shirosaki's abdomen making him groan out in pain. _

"_You can go with the 'Blue' or watch yourself slowly die. Either way, you won't escape me. I'll always  find you." She giggled and ripped her claws from his stomach only to plunge her second hand completely through his chest and out his back. When she tore her hand from his chest Shiro lifelessly fell to the ground and vanished into thin air. "Whose gonna protect you now?" She licked the blood from her razor sharp fingers with a demented giggle. _

_Ichigo fell to his knees once again succumbing to her. "Rukia...please." His voice a low and cracking as if he were at any moment about to breakdown. "H-How can you do this to someone that loves you?" _

_As soon as the question left him Rukia stopped licking her claws, her face softened and she took a step toward Ichigo. It was as if a moment of clarity had finally gotten through to her. _

"_Ichigo…" She said softly with another half step toward him. _

_The little boy ran up to Rukia in an attempt to keep her away and began aggressively kicking her shins, but none of his hits would could connect. "Ichi-go. You. Hafta. Run!"_

"_Oh." Her voice trembled. "You think he will protect you huh? That he will love you? You think you can get away from me and go to him?" Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. "I don't fucking think so."_

_She raised her hand up in the air and swiped it down toward the boy, and quickly Ichigo leaped forward to try and tackle him out of the way._

* * *

"No!" Ichigo shouted out as his entire upper body jolted up, his eyes instantly snapping open. Grimmjow was sitting up next to him with a deeply concerned look on his face. "Fuck, Ichigo are ya alright?!"

"Oh no. No. No. No!"

Ichigo quickly he jumped out of the bed and ran toward his pants, grabbing his phone from his pocket. He needed to call Rukia.

* * *

For the most part of the night Grimmjow hadn't gotten much sleep. The thought that Ichigo had been getting hurt right under his nose didn't sit right with him. He couldn't stomach how someone could intentionally hurt such a beautiful person to the point where he thought so little of himself. The worst part of it was, Grimmjow had a feeling that he was being abused, but he completely ignored it. If he had only asked just once, he could have prevented so many of the scars that riddled Ichigo's perfect body.

Each time he would look down to see one of his many bruises or scars, he would carefully graze his fingers over it. Whenever he did that Ichigo would immediately tense as if he were bracing himself for something. All Grimmjow wanted was to keep Ichigo snuggled up against his chest where he was safe and at ease.

As the night gradually passed by Grimmjow was starting to fall asleep, but Ichigo had been fidgeting in his sleep. He figured that it was just a nightmare so he pulled him in closer and momentarily he stopped his tossing and turning.

It was only about two hours into Grimmjow's deep sleep, that Ichigo bucked up, shrieked out in absolute fear, and scrambled to his pants to grab his phone.

Grimmjow stepped out of the bed and walked over to Ichigo who was in a panic to get dressed. The orangette stood up once he had his pants on then tried to move past Grimmjow to grab his shirt, but he wouldn't budge.

"I-I have t-to get dressed a-and g-go home. Now!" He was stumbling with his words. Something had definitely shaken him. When he tried to weakly push past Grimmjow, he could feel Ichigo trembling.

"Ichigo you're in shock, I'm not lettin' ya go anywhere like this. _Especially_ not back to her." Grimmjow placed a hand flat on Ichigo's chest to keep him from proceeding forward.

Ichigo looked up at him and tears started to form in his tired, brown eyes. With his voice was low and carrying so much anguish, he asked Grimmjow something he honestly didn't have the answer to. "Why is this happening?"

"I don't know Ichi, but what I do know is that ya don't deserve this." Grimmjow replied.

"Oh? And how do you know what _I _deserve? You don't even know me, yet you got me drunk and undressed and somehow got me in your bed. Do I deserve _that? _I'm not as great of a person you think I am, so j-just fuck off!" Ichigo snapped, his face completely red, with a stream of tears rolling down cheeks.

_A complete 180. Great._

"What the hell would ya want me to do? Send ya back home drunk so that monster can try and kill ya again? 'Sides, I wasn't the one who kept refilling your glass, last time I checked we're both adults." Grimmjow tried his best to keep his cool, but grew annoyed with the orangette's sudden mood swings.

"So you're saying me passing out practically naked, cuddled up to you, is _my_ fault? You are fucking twisted Grimmjow. You know what, fuck this job, I'm done."

Grimmjow sighed and hesitantly placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Ichigo please don't do th-"

"Don't touch me!" Ichigo said in a tone Grimmjow had not heard before, then with an incredible amount of strength he shoved the blunet a few steps back.

Grimmjow walked toward him and when he tried pushing him again Grimmjow placed a hand to his chest and assertively pressed him against the wall. Ichigo's heart was hammering in his chest as his breathing got heavier.

"You feel that?" He glared into his eyes, his own breathing picking up. "That need to fight?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes as Grimmjow paused again. "Don't you ever lose that. That's how ya fuckin' survive!" He growled.

Ichigo wrapped his hand around the back of Grimmjow's neck and pulled him down into a hard kiss.

_Another 180. The hell is with this kid? _

Grimmjow let his hand slide down from his chest, and around to his scarred ribs, to pull him closer. Ichigo gasped softly as if his hands were ice cold, but didn't break the kiss. He pulled away for a moment, and whispered. "I'm done fighting you. You aren't my enemy..."

Before Grimmjow could properly respond Ichigo kissed him once again, this one however softer, and deeper than the one before. Surprised or not, Grimmjow definitely didn't want the kiss to stop. His tongue swept against the seam of Ichigo's lips, he nearly moaned at the boy's taste. The slight taste of red wine, tinged with his own seductive flavor was enough to make him hungry for more.

* * *

The way Grimmjow spoke to him made something in him snap. He was tired of being so weak and powerless. Every bit of anger, frustration, and hatred went into that kiss. Ichigo couldn't hold himself back anymore, he needed to do something to regain some kind of power.

Once he finally had it, he could feel his inhibitions lowering and the desire that laid dull in his heart firing again. Grimmjow managed to get inside his head, but instead of manipulating him, he was trying to fix the damage Rukia caused.

Everything happened in an instant, he didn't even know what got into him when he pushed Grimmjow. However he wasn't regretting a damn thing. He knew that he wanted his boss, and he wasn't going to let fear, self-doubt, and anger hold him back.

With a soft hum he opened his mouth granting him entry, and was instantly captivated by the male's skillful, dominating tongue. He was practically melting in Grimmjow's arms, as their tongues slid against each other. All sense of reason left him as he felt the rush of blood pool in crotch, he was painfully hard. He eagerly pressed his hips against Grimmjow's to feel his rock hard cock brush against his own. Ichigo moaned into his mouth, and practically lost his breath as Grimmjow pulled away with his bottom lip sucked between his lips.

When Grimmjow finally let go of his lower lip, he looked up into hazy blue eyes. "I-I don't know what I'm doing, hell I don't even know what I want to do… I just don't want this to stop."

Grimmjow smiled down at him and softly stroked his side. "That's okay, we don't hafta do anything ya aren't comfortable with."

"I j-just...you know… It's been a while since I uh – got off. I don't know if I can… do it."

"I'm gonna show ya everything, and we're gonna take it real slow. Until ya get the hang of things _you're_ in charge Ichi. Sound okay?" Grimmjow leaned down to pressed his nose to Ichigo's.

"Yes sir." Ichigo moaned as Grimmjow buried himself in his neck..

"I need to taste you." He whispered huskily against the flesh before kissing it.

Ichigo opened his mouth to speak, but a soft groan left in place of words. Grimmjow's tongue flickered behind his ear, then he took the lobe and gently suckled it with a throaty groan. Hearing Grimmjow groan made precum salivate from the head of his cock, it was the sexiest thing he had ever heard. He had never been so turned on in his life.

Grimmjow picked him up and carried him back to the bed, laid him down then slowly crawled on top of him. Grimmjow gracefully ran his tongue over his nipple before nipping at it making Ichigo's back arched off the bed with a muffled moan, goosebumps quickly tingling his skin. His deft fingers went to his other nipple and plucked it once, then twice making Ichigo arch to his touch. As he went lower on Ichigo's body, he carefully kissed each and every blemish on the way.

"You're a beautiful man Ichigo." He spoke after placing a kiss, on a bruise just above his navel. "You're beautiful everywhere." He said dipping his tongue into the orangette's bellybutton.

Ichigo felt his eyes water, but couldn't stop the smile that spread on his face. "Show me how beautiful you think I am Mr. Jaegerjaques."

Grimmjow smiled in return, then slowly shimmied down Ichigo's underwear off and tossed them to the floor. He slowly grazed his palm on the insides of his thighs, before lowering his head to kiss each one. Ichigo chewed onto his bottom lip and let his head roll back. He felt embarrassed yet so _empowered _knowing such an intimidating man had been buried between his legs.

Soft fingertips trailed up the underside of his cock causing it to twitch and a staggered breath to leave him. Grimmjow leaned down kissing up the seam of his balls, to the head right up to the curly triangular formation of pale orange pubic hairs.

"Fuck Ichi, ya smell so good." He murmured before running his tongue up the underside, to clean up the precum that settled there. Ichigo's hands went above his head to clench at the pillows, as another muffled whimper left him. When Grimmjow's tongue circled around the head, then dipped into the slit Ichigo's back jolted up off the bed. In a full swoop Grimmjow had swallowed his cock whole, and Ichigo could hardly contain himself.

"Fuck!"

His hips began moving on their own, synchronous with Grimmjow's bobbing movements. Each time he opened his mouth a moan would escape. The soft slurping and swallowing of Grimmjow's lip on his cock, the feeling of his throat humming around it, with his hand graciously kneading at his tightening balls were just so overwhelming. Ichigo could feel his muscles tensing and an orgasm coming as he practically fucked Grimmjow's throat, but it subsided once Grimmjow pulled off him to pump at his cock.

"Grimmjow, I –"Ichigo spoke completely out of breath, his cries for more intensifying as Grimmjow's hand sped up.

"Whaddya need baby. Tell me." He said groaning as well.

"You! I-I need you!" Ichigo moaned out with his climax just seconds away. "Fu-Fuck! Don't stop!"

"Never!" Grimmjow growled before taking his cock back into his throat.

"Nnnf! Yes!" Ichigo yelled out as his muscles spasmed, his hips bucked, his toes curled, and his cock spewed his seed into Grimmjow's throat. Shockwaves of mind-numbing ecstasy washed over every pore in his body.

Ichigo was trembling once Grimmjow released his cock from his throat. In fact he was so far gone, he didn't even realize that the man had climbed up to him until an arm draped over his chest.

Heavy breathing, the smell of drying semen, and the feeling of a fading orgasm high invaded both their sense. A few minutes passed before they settled down and weariness began to consume them.

Ichigo tilted his head so that he was facing Grimmjow whom had his eyes closed, hooked the blunet's head into his arm and kissed his lips in an attempt to get his attention. "Um..."

"What's wrong?" His crystalline blue eyes opened to glance at him.

As absolutely ridiculous as it sounded, it still needed to be addressed. "Since you sucked my uh – yeah, does that mean I have to – ahem y-y'know?"

Grimmjow laughed softly and shook his head. "Don't overthink it. Ya don't owe me anything, 'sides I was pleasin' myself. We got off at the same time." He grabbed Ichigo's hand and guided it toward the head of his spent cock. Ichigo grazed his finger against the tip to see that he had a climax as well. With a sharp gasp and low groan, Grimmjow brushed Ichigo's hand away. "Careful."

Ichigo could feel himself profusely blushing so he smiled goofily. "Fuck sorry! I forgot."

"C'mere kid." Grimmjow grinned with a head jerk in his direction.

Ichigo moved so that he was in Grimmjow's arms and sighed as his arms coiled around his body. There were still so many things he had to do, and he didn't even know where to start. He couldn't even figure out how he was going to officially break things off with Rukia.

His chin was lifted, and Grimmjow was looking down at him with the half-smirk Ichigo secretly loved. "You're scowlin' which means you're overthinkin' again. Just relax. Let's get a couple hours rest and go from there, yeah?"

Once he agreed, he was met by deeper kiss and could taste his own seed on Grimmjow's lips and for some reason he really liked it. He nestled his face into the man's neck and smiled. He really did hope things would go smoothly from here on out; he actually did feel good for once.

As Ichigo finally drifted off into sleep, Grimmjow just laid there for a few moments just watching him. He was tired, but he wanted to make sure that Ichigo was sleeping soundly. However… as much as he would have loved to watch the orangette peacefully rest, he desperately needed a cigarette. Hell, after what they just did he figured he would have to smoke a whole pack.

He combed his fingers through Ichigo's just-fucked, spiky orange tresses then carefully slipped out of bed. Once he was safely out he grabbed his smokes, and covertly made his way to his balcony. He placed a cigarette between his lips, lit it and took a few light drags to get it going.

Even though it went against everything Grimmjow believed in, he was content with how the night had panned out. Being able to finally fulfill his fantasy of having the orangette to himself came true, but in essence there was so much more to it. He got to see Ichigo's true colors in just the short time that they had together. Ichigo came to terms with the fact that he needed to leave his volatile relationship, his own sexuality, and the fact that he was stronger than he thought he was. None of it would have happened if Grimmjow didn't step in.

Deep down he knew he couldn't get too attached to Ichigo. He had just recently got out of an engagement, and didn't want to use him as a rebound. The question Grimmjow didn't want to think about still remained though. How long could he keep the boy around before he realized that Grimmjow wasn't as great of a guy as he seemed? Even with a vast fortune and an attractive body, he could never keep anyone around for too long. Somehow Grimmjow had managed to drive everyone away from him, and no matter how many expensive things he could buy them, he knew that it wouldn't make them love him.

_Love. Who the fuck needs it?_

Grimmjow shook his head and flicked his fourth cigarette butt over the ledge he leaned against. The sun was starting to rise, and with that he knew that he wasn't going back sleep. He looked back into his bedroom to see his naked secretary tangled up in his sheets, and let a grin curve at his lips.

He walked back into his bedroom, closed the balcony doors and draped the curtains over the window so that the sun wouldn't wake Ichigo. After sitting his nearly empty pack of cigarettes down on his nightstand, his body went to autopilot and he found himself in the bathroom. He twisted a few dials in his shower so that the water had been steaming and slowly stepped in.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo  
**_

After his brief shower, he could feel his insides devouring themselves, so he went down to his kitchen to have the sweet aroma of breakfast with a fresh pot of coffee obtrude upon his nostrils.

"Good morning, sir." His teal haired, curvaceous, housekeeper said in a thick German accent. She donned a traditional French maid's outfit with white fishnet stockings, a black bonnet with white lace around the rim, black heels, with her hair tied back in a neat ponytail. How she managed to be just as tall as he was and still find a way to wear heels was far beyond his knowledge.

"It's definitely been a great morning Nelliel. Looks like it'll be beautiful today, yeah?"

"You're in a good mood this morning." She said upon scraping egg whites out of a pan and into a small dish.

"Che. It's been a while." He said eyeballing all the food she had prepared. She usually made his meals in advance to him waking up, so it wasn't too often he got to watch her actually prepare everything. "Is there a reason ya cooked all this Nelliel?"

She shook her head with a roll over her turquoise eyes and pulled a bowl of a fresh assorted berries from the refrigerator. "Do I need one to cook for you sir?"

"Not at all. But, I'm glad ya made all this I'm starvin'." He walked over to the small platter of turkey bacon that sat next to the stove, and reached for a slice.

"_Nein!" _She spoke upon smacking his hand away with the wooden spoon she held, her teal eyebrows furrowed up on her forehead. "You have the small red-haired boy here no? Have some manners Mr. Jaegerjaques."

Like a child whom had burned their hand he quickly retracted his hand away with a chuckle, then went to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"Yes, he's still sleeping upstairs which means this delicious meal ya prepared is gonna get cold."

"Mr. Jaegerjaques why must you have such little patience?" She said with a quiet giggle as she stirred the pot of hot oats.

He poured cream and sugar into his coffee and sipped at it with a shrug of his shoulders. "I've just got a big appetite."

"I can see why you have such an appetite sir. You both were not very quiet last night." She mumbled with a sly chuckle.

Grimmjow choked on the steaming hot liquid that washed down his throat, he was not prepared for that. "Damn it. Nel." He coughed trying to catch his breath.

After pouring the oatmeal into a large saucer, Nel began setting all the food on the small table just a couple feet from the bar. Once her hands were finally empty, she leaned over Grimmjow's shoulder and wrapped her arms around him.

"Please don't let this one get away _Onkel._ He's a good one, unlike the little evil man you had around here before. I haven't ever seen you this happy."

Grimmjow cleared his throat and shook his head. "Yeah, I know."

When Nel finally let him go Grimmjow sighed. He honestly didn't think he changed that much since Ichigo appeared in his life. His mood had gotten better, but it was mostly because of work. Everything was running so smoothly with his company, and there had been little no hiccups since Ichigo took place as his secretary. It was nothing personal it was just business. He couldn't blur those lines any further, his personal feelings shouldn't interfere with his profession.

The blunet looked up from his cup of coffee and his jaw nearly dropped at what happened to catch his eye.

Ichigo was halfway hidden behind the doorway of the kitchen and draped over his glistening wet body was Grimmjow's black Egyptian cotton robe with obviously nothing else underneath. His hair dripped small droplets of water and even from a distance Grimmjow could smell his clean scent.

_Whoa._

"I couldn't find my clothes so I just put this on. Is that okay?" His eyes down at his feet.

Grimmjow was at a loss for words. It was twice that morning he had been caught off guard.

"Don't worry about them I washed them and they are drying right now. They shall be ready in a few more minutes. Please sit and have breakfast _Itsygo." _Nel spoke politely in place of her uncle's lack of words.

"Thank you Nel, this all looks great." He spoke with a weak smile. It was obvious the kid was hungover, overthinking again and in desperate need of something in his stomach.

"_Ja. _It is no problem. I will be upstairs if I am needed, I shall give you two your privacy." She bowed her head respectfully and at that last note she left.

Grimmjow moved to the table and pulled out Ichigo's chair for him, once he was seated he sat himself down across from him.

Ichigo picked up a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel as soon as he sat down, however there was a bit of an uncomfortable silence. Grimmjow watched Ichigo's reactions and gradually sipped at his coffee.

The orangette would reach for food, then pull away as if he no longer wanted anything. And he would pull pieces of the bagel off, bring a piece to his lips, then lower it with a disappointed look to his face.

It was if he wanted to eat something, but physically couldn't.

Last night was a rare occasion. Ichigo actually finished his food and went back and had a second serving. Grimmjow was lucky to see him ever finish anything on his plate.

"So is it okay? I-I mean I'll take it off if I'm overstepping my boundaries, sir."

"What?" He made a strange face and tilted his head, before he remembered that Ichigo was wearing his robe. "Oh fuck. Yeah, It's fine Ichigo. If anything I'm the one who may have overstepped my boundaries." Grimmjow said, taking a bite of the crispy turkey bacon. "I meant everything that I said last night. Ya don't owe me anything, I just want ya to be happy."

Ichigo ripped a piece off the circular pastry, and pressed it to his lips with a blush. "Mr. Jaegerja-"

"Grimmjow." He interrupted with a half-smirk.

"_Grimmjow_, I don't regret anything that happened last night, but I am sorry I snapped at you. That was disrespectful. I don't want to lose my job."

"Don't apologize kid, I was kinda impressed. It's about time ya grew a pair and stood up to me." He said chuckling while scooping a bit of the oatmeal into his bowl.

Ichigo threw the piece he had in his hand at Grimmjow with a snicker. "Whatever."

There was a pregnant pause as Grimmjow starting spooning the plain oatmeal into his mouth. Ichigo just sat quietly, staring down at the half eaten bagel in his hand.

"Ya know, my offer is still on the table. I'll put her in a nice rehab and you're welcome to stay with me for as long as ya need."

Ichigo nodded his head with a slow sigh. "I know. It's just I don't know what to expect when I tell her. She's not your typical woman."

"Want me to go with ya, when ya tell her? If somethin' were to happen to ya again..." Grimmjow trailed off and shook his head.

"I won't let her hurt me, I promise. I think I'm strong enough to do this. It might take a while to actually get through to her, so when I'm ready I'll let you know. If she sees you I don't know if she'll take it well."

Grimmjow was wary of letting Ichigo go off on his own to do something so major on his own, but it was obvious the kid was in need for some kind of empowerment.

"Alright, whenever you're ready to go I'll have Shawlong take you."

Ichigo tilted his head slightly, "You aren't coming with me?"

"I can't, I have an appointment with Dr. Unohana in a little bit. Hell, you're the one that scheduled it. Do ya need me to come?"

Ichigo went quiet for a moment then let out a brief sigh. "No, I'm ready to do this by myself. Do what you have to do Grimmjow and I will too. It's time I started doing things to help myself." He sat the bagel down and grabbed a bowl to scoop himself a bit of oatmeal. Once he got a spoonful of oatmeal he spooned some blueberries into it, then grabbed some egg whites.

Grimmjow smiled and left the conversation at that and continued eating as well.

The confidence that radiated from Ichigo was definitely different, but it was very good. It was nice to have moments where he could eat with Ichigo, considering he didn't do it too often. He couldn't wait to have moments like this occur every morning when Ichigo would move in. Things could only get better once Ichigo would escape from that awful relationship.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

Once breakfast had ended, Grimmjow went back to his office to take care of a bit of business while Ichigo went to put on his clothes. After he checked his e-mail, he made sure he sent Ichigo the spreadsheet they had been working on. Once he made sure no one was around to hear him, he grabbed his office phone and hit the number one speed-dial number.

After just two rings, Shawlong answered. "Yes, Mr. Jaegerjaques?"

"I need ya to drop Ichigo off back at Kuchiki's condo."

"Is that all sir?"

Grimmjow hesitated, to think before he spoke. He trusted Ichigo and the confidence he had in himself, however he didn't trust Rukia. She was unstable.

"No. Keep close surveillance on him, but stay hidden. If you sense any danger get him out of there."

"Yes sir."

"Shawlong, if he comes out of that house with a hair out of place you will find yourself out of a job. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal. I'll keep Kurosaki out of harms way Mr. Jaegerjaques."

"Thank you Shawlong."

"It's my job sir, no thanks is necessary. I am standing by outside your residence sir."

Grimmjow heard someone approaching. "He will be out there shortly."

Grimmjow hung up the phone as Ichigo walked into his office wearing exactly what he had on the night before.

"The moment of truth. Ya nervous?"

Ichigo laughed briefly and bobbed his head up and down. "Yes, but I'm also kind of excited. After this it'll be a fresh start for both me and Rukia. I'm glad that she's gonna have a chance to get clean."

Grimmjow wrapped an arm around Ichigo's waist and pulled him close. "I'm nervous too, but I'm more so excited to have ya safe and stable with me."

Ichigo's cheeks lit up to a pale carnation-pink. "Me too."

"And, I'm gonna make sure you get some help too. I want ya to start seeing Dr. Unohana. That okay?" Grimmjow caressed Ichigo's heated cheek into his palm.

"Yes, sir." He spoke quietly.

"Good." He caught Ichigo's lips in a chaste kiss and smiled.

"I know we're supposed to be taking things slow and when I was showering this morning I really thought about it." He paused for a moment and looked down at Grimmjow's chest. "I can't wait for my chance to taste you."

_Seriously. Who the hell is this kid and what did he do with Ichigo? _

Grimmjow's hand lowered to firmly cup Ichigo's ass, quickly eliciting a sharp gasp from him. "You'll get your chance to taste everything ya wanna taste on me. And I on you." He whispered coarsely in his ear before nibbling at the lobe.

Another soft moan left him, and Grimmjow couldn't get enough of the precious sound. He moved down to his neck, nibbling and sucking on his sweet flesh, then he pulled away to see lustrous amber eyes gazing back at him. He caught his mouth in another heated kiss. His tongue invaded Ichigo's mouth and the taste of fresh mint captivated his tongue. Once Ichigo's tongue began flickering against his own, Grimmjow swung his hand back, and let it connect with his ass with a hard _smack. _Ichigo jolted in his arms and a hungry moan left him; he figured the orangette enjoyed being spanked.

Grimmjow slowly broke the kiss and grinned at the look of heartbreak on Ichigo's face when he did. "Easy boy. We're gonna have plenty of time to explore and play around."

"That time cannot come soon enough."

They both shared a brief laugh that helped change both their moods, then Ichigo wrapped his arms around Grimmjow. The blunet coiled his arms around his lover and closed his eyes. The hug seemed to go on forever and Grimmjow truly didn't want it to end.

"Thank you."

Ichigo spoke softly into his ear then stepped out of his arms and walked to the door.

When Ichigo took his initial step out the door, Grimmjow quietly replied.

"For what?"

Ichigo waited a second then turned his head back and sheepishly smiled.

"Trying to save me." After he spoke he walked off leaving Grimmjow to himself.

Grimmjow hated to see Ichigo go back to the place that caused him so much trauma by himself. There was just something in his gut telling him not to let Ichigo go back. He couldn't be there to protect Ichigo forever, he had to put all his faith in the orangette's confidence.

Grimmjow leaned back against his desk, slipped a cigarette between his lips and sighed as he lit it up.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques I escorted _Itsygo_ – what's the matter?" Nelliel asked upon taking a few steps into his office.

"I fucked up Nel." He said expelling a large cloud of smoke from his lungs.

"But, how?" She walked over to him, took the cigarette from his fingers and took a drag from it herself.

He gave a dry chuckle and pushed himself off his desk.

"I fuckin' love 'im."

* * *

**_AN: _**_And the plot thickens. Could there possibly be an ending soon? Haha you'll have to wait and see! __Rate and review if you can, and don't forget I'll answer any questions and accept any criticism. _

_Thanks for reading, _

_~Shawn_

_Translation:  
Onkel - Uncle (German)_


	6. Problems with the Past

With Grimmjow's residence in the rear-view mirror as Shawlong drove off, remorse instantly clenched at his heart. He was not looking forward to seeing Rukia, let alone by himself. He knew he shouldn't have pushed to go alone, but it something that only he could do.

It had been years since Ichigo had ever felt so much raw emotion pour into him. Everything that happened last night from the initial kiss that started it all to the kiss he got out the door was completely overwhelming. It wasn't necessarily about the act itself – though it had been far too long since he had an orgasm – but rather the intimacy, passion, and feeling behind it.

_Is this what love is supposed to feel like?_

Ichigo only knew true love for one person, but that love managed to dement that Rukia and slowly destroy him. He should have escaped before any harm was done, but that love kept him there through absolutely everything.

He could never find a way to escape the hollow reality he managed to set himself into until he met Grimmjow. He finally found his voice, but he really didn't know what the hell to say. Finding the courage to actually leave everything that he knew without turning back was something he struggled with. If it weren't for Grimmjow's promise to get her help, Ichigo wouldn't have agreed to anything. All he ever wanted was for her to be truly happy.

Shawlong kept his silence as he drove which only led Ichigo to delve further into his thoughts. He toyed with the promise ring on his finger, twisting it back in forth, as he played every scenario he could think of in his head.

The best possible way this could turn out would be, him walking in to find Rukia completely sober, rational and understanding of the situation. She would look at the situation as a great opportunity for them both to heal and prosper. Then she would take the help that was offered to her, they would hug things out, and he would be able to leave with whatever he could carry on his back.

Ichigo chewed into his bottom lip and let out a dry snicker.

_If only it were that easy._

There was no way in heaven or hell things would ever go that well. He didn't know why he would torture himself with thoughts that would never be. He was better off thinking of the worst outcome possible and praying that she didn't completely lose her mind and kill him.

Ichigo gazed out the window and anxiety completely wrecked his nerves once he started recognizing the buildings. They were getting closer and closer to his soon-to-be former home and he immediately began to question where the hell the time went. He pulled the phone Rukia used to contact him from his pocket and just stared at it. He couldn't even imagine the things she said to him in the vast amounts of notifications, missed calls, and voicemails she sent him within the short time he was gone.

He fisted his fingers through his hair and shut his eyes for a moment. A shaky sigh left him as he felt the car stop and the parking brake set. There was no turning back after this.

"Mr. Kurosaki, we have arrived at your destination." Shawlong spoke after an eternity of keeping silent.

_This is it._

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

Ichigo stood at the front door contemplating his life for a decent fifteen minutes. He was petrified.

Shawlong was no longer there to just drive him back, so he really had no other choice but to go in. For each second that passed by the anxiety slowly chipped away his confidence, bit-by-bit.

_Shirosaki… Where are you? _

He reached for the doorknob and took a deep breath to stop the trembling; if Rukia saw weakness, there was no way he would be able to leave. He closed his eyes and opened the door, then once he stepped in and quietly shut the door behind him his eyes opened. He could literally feel his heart slow down as he caught sight of what happened to their home.

Broken glass was scattered on the floor. The walls were riddled with holes. Pictures were cracked. Shutters were torn down. The television was shattered. Hell, everything was destroyed.

Ichigo did a small walk around of the first floor, and he could tell where Rukia managed to outsource her wrath. This was not a good sign.

He walked to the stairs and a mix of relief with disturbance hit him. There were small bloody handprints on the wall going up the stairs. He followed the trail to their bedroom, which had been perfectly tact except for her clothes being sprawled everywhere. The last trace of blood found was on the shattered closet door-mirror, which was cracked open.  
Ichigo's heart thumped heavily in his chest as he slowly approached the door. Something wasn't right, things were much too quiet.

He stepped into the closet and his heart nearly broke into a billion pieces; Rukia was lying lifelessly on the floor. She was half-dressed wearing only a black lace bra, and pale pink mini skirt with one heel on her left foot.

He rushed over to her unconscious form and his nursing skills instinctively went into play. He carefully shifted her body so that she was lying on her back, then moved so that his ear was over her nose. He listened for her breathing, felt for her breath, and watched to see if her chest rose and fell. She was still alive, but just barely. He went to check her eyes next and saw that they were extremely dilated; his suspicions were getting high. He grabbed her wrist to check her pulse and a small nearly empty baggie of white powder fell from her hand.

His eyes widened and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Fuck!" He instantly scooped her up into his arms and ran straightaway to the bathroom.

"Rukia, please don't do this!" He whispered to her, his voice heavy with concern.

He kicked the bathroom door down and ripped the shower curtain off it's hinges and sat her down in the tub.

"I-I know things aren't great right now, but I didn't want this to happen! Please Shiroif you're listening help me!"

He turned on the dial for cold water on full blast and aimed the nozzle down at her in attempts to shock her awake. He tugged his fingers into his hair to force himself to think, he had to have some kind of knowledge in this.

"C'mon Ichigo! Think! How do you counteract a-a stimulant? O-okay a stimulant is an upper. To treat an OD with an upper you have to use a… Fuck! I can't remember!" He yelled to himself and began tugging at harder at his hair. "Why do you have to be so fucking stupid?!" He punched himself in the temple. "Why?!" He growled out again.

"_**Oi, oi! King! Stop that!"**_

_Shiro!_

"_**Yer fuckin' body is my fuckin' body so stop doin' that!" **_

_Help me! If I don't do something she's gonna start seizing! I-I can't call the police, but I don't know what else to do!_

"_**King, slow down. Ya know what yer doin'. Ya can't keep panickin' like this, think about it."**_

He took a few deep breaths, and tried to calm himself down.

"Stimulants increase the heart rate, which means it needs to slow back down. But, how?" He spoke quietly to himself and shook his head. "Slow down… slow down… wait. I got it!"

Ichigo turned around and swung open the medicine cabinet to grab his rather neglected, prescription bottle of anxiety medication; he opened the cap and took out two tablets. Afterwards, he grabbed his school-provided emergency first aid kit and pulled out a sterile needle. As quickly as he could manage he crushed the two tablets, diluted them in water and immersed them into the needle.

"Please let this work." He held his breath and walked over to Rukia. Her breathing had picked up to slightly below normal, but she was still unconscious. He grabbed her right arm, found the most obvious vein, and injected her with the makeshift downer.

About a minute after the solution hit her system, the raven haired woman jolted awake with a grunt. Her pale plum eyes widened with a very surprised expression on her brow.

"What. The. Fuck." She said quietly upon stepping out of the shower and rubbing the spot on her arm that was injected.

Relief overwhelmed Ichigo and he began laughing softly. "I did it. I saved you."

When he looked down to meet eyes with her – assuming she would be rather grateful or perhaps happy – he was instead met with a livid look he knew all too well.

"Are you fucking _kidding_ me? You idiot! Y-you didn't save anything! My makeup! My hair! This skirt costed _fifty-thousand _yen and you aren't supposed to wet it with cold water! All of that is _ruined._"

"Rukia –"

"No! Fuck you, don't you _Rukia_ me! Where the hell have you been?"

"If you would just let me explain."

"Okay." She laughed softly and reached down to take off the shoe on her left foot, brandishing it with a chuckle. "Try to explaining why you don't love me."

Ichigo was the one to laugh in sheer admonishment that time. She retracted the shoe in her hand as if she were going to hit him, so he quickly grabbed it from her hand.

"You don't even love me, so how about you explain why you thought it was okay to assault, demoralize, control, and abuse me nearly everyday for the past few years."

An entertained expression contorted her face as Ichigo finally stood up to her. "You are mine Ichigo. I can do whatever I want to you."

"Is that so?" Ichigo snickered wryly, then twisted the promise ring off his finger. "I was gonna wait until you were feeling better, but you know what fuck it." He tossed the ring onto the floor and turned to leave the bathroom. "I don't belong to anyone anymore. It's over."

* * *

Grimmjow approached the dark, oak door with the placard reading: 'Dr. Retsu Unohana – Licensed Psychiatrist/Psychologist'. A strange aura met with his own. When that usually happened it meant something bad was going to happen. She was about to say some life changing shit today.

_Here we go._

He gave a solid _bang_ on the door. No later than five seconds passed once a soft spoken voice muttered, "Come in."

The door opened to her office and the doctor was scribbling something in her notepad when he stepped inside. She looked up with a sweet grin once the door was shut, then stood up and extended her hand to him.

"Hello Grimmjow. Is there a reason you are late today?"

Grimmjow swallowed thickly and extended his hand out to meet hers. His fingers were instantly crushed by her monster grip.

For a very kind, gentle hearted woman she had a rather intimidating aura to her; she was not one to be crossed or walked over. Given she was his shrink for a few years, he was still very humbled by her presence. He made sure to turn off _all _his phones and made sure both Shawlong and Ichigo restricted anyone from bothering him. Her time was obviously very precious.

He kept a straight face and squeezed her back with just as much strength. "Ichigo stayed the night and I had to make sure he got home safe."

She let go of his hand and took her seat, "Oh, really? How did that go?"

"Intense, but I somehow convinced him to come stay with me." He took the small saucer of M&amp;M's she had on her desk into his hand. He walked over to love seat sofa which sat no more than six feet from her desk and sat down. "Are these the one's with peanut butter in the middle?"

"Of course Grimmjow, those are your favorite." She reached into her desk and pulled out the tape recorder she often used in their sessions. "Did he finally tell to you that he is a victim of domestic abuse?"

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes upon taking one of the red candies into his mouth. "How did you..."

"Based on what you've been telling me, the signs are clear."

He knew better than to raise his voice to her, so he clenched his jaw. "Why didn't ya didn't say anything?"

"It was something you had to figure out on your own." She glanced down at her notepad and wrote for a few seconds. "Do I detect anger in your tone?" She looked up at him.

"Yes! I coulda done somethin' sooner!"

"That would imply that you feel something for the boy Grimmjow. That's a bit out of your character is it not?"

"I-I don't care what the hell is in my character!"

Retsu usually generally kept here eyes half lidded, but once Grimmjow raised his voice they widened.

"Grimmjow, in the years you have seen me you have never spoken to me that way."

"Well, fuckin' A Doc! What if I didn't tell you one of your subordinates is hurt and confused? What if you had to find out the way I did?"

The older woman chuckled sheepishly and let her eyes completely close. "I wouldn't violate someone that works for me whom is hurt and confused Grimmjow."

Grimmjow jumped up from his chair letting the small bowl of candies fall from his lap, "I didn't violate anyone! Everything was consensual a-a-and fuckin' great! He didn't regret anything!"

"I never said anyone regretted anything Grimmjow."

"However, you seem defensive. Why is that?" She strategically asked upon crossing one leg over the other.

"Defensive?! Why the fuck would I be defensive?! Because I manipulated him?! I manipulated him for his own good and look how it turned out. Hell, he's my employee! If I feel like he's in some kind of danger I have that obligation to make sure he's good right?"

"So you're telling me you take home and seduce all your employees that show signs of abuse?"

"No! I don't care about all them in the way I care about Ichigo!"

"Who is to say that Ichigo is only using you as a way out of his unhealthy relationship? Who is to say he even cares? You have been taken advantage of before, yes?"

Grimmjow was instantly shut down because he knew she definitely had a point. He sat back down on the sofa with his legs shoulder width apart and rested his face in his hands. A soft sigh met with a shrug of his shoulders. "I dunno Doc..."

"Why did you feel the need to take him in Grimmjow? This is becoming a trend."

"C'mon Doc, don't act like ya don't know." He looked up at her with a wry grin.

"This isn't about me Grimmjow."

He shook his head and sighed once more. "I just... I see a lot of myself in him, he's on a dark path Doc."

"Grimmjow, you are a successful, handsome, intelligent, compassionate man. For him to turn out like you would be nothing short of a miracle. Your past wasn't the best, however it made you who you are."

"It won't change all the shit I did. Don't matter if I'm the richest or the most attractive man on the planet, at the end of the day I still feel… hollow. Time has passed, but deep down I'm still the angry, destructive, asshole that can't even hold a relationship. It doesn't change all the harm I've done Doc."

"What Sosuke had you do does _not _determine who _you_ are."

Grimmjow stiffened once he heard the man's name and lowered his head. "Sosuke Aizen… Bastard got everything he deserved." He muttered.

"And you are going to get exactly what you deserve Grimmjow, but you must learn to be comfortable with your past. Regardless of your questionable past you have still done some great things, accept that."

"Doc, I don't have a problem acceptin' anything. It's people I wanna get close to that have the problem acceptin' me and my fucked up past. The moment I wanna get close to someone, my past just comes and fucks it all up. I can't trust anyone."

"That's not why they leave Grimmjow and you know it. You're too afraid to show them your true colors. I must ask though. Do you trust Ichigo?"

"I trust him with everything I've got."

"Do you think he'll leave once he sees your true nature?"

Grimmjow looked down at his palms and sighed, "I dunno."

"Then you don't trust him and you don't trust yourself."

The blunet just let out a sigh. He hated to admit it, but everything she spoke was true. "I think I love 'im Doc. Could I be wrong about that too?"

"I'm only going to say this. Don't either of you let your pasts come back to haunt you. Things will not turn out good for anyone if that happens. Accept the bad for what it is, no one is perfect Grimmjow. You both have power over each other; use it wisely."

He ran his hand through his unruly hair and closed his eyes. He knew exactly why she was saying that; if he kept letting his past get to him, he would never be able to find a quality guy. There was no way he would let someone use him again.

In some sort of way he always managed to have some sort of control over people. Money seemed to be his best bet. He always managed to get his way for awhile by greasing a few palms or getting someone a few nice gifts here and there.

Even though Ichigo worked for him, that power he held over him was practically useless. He couldn't overpower Ichigo the way he could anyone else. It wasn't like he could throw a couple hundred thousand yen at him and expect him to stay. It was unfamiliar territory, but it was a good thing.

"Grimmjow?" Retsu spoke quietly after a few moments of silence.

"I know. My hour and a half is up." He barely spoke in a husky whisper.

"Take as much time as you need, you are welcome to stay for another hour if you'd like."

Grimmjow shook his head and stood up from his seat. "Nah. I got a lot to think about. Don't really feel like talkin' too much either."

"Alright. I'll get with Ichigo to schedule your next appointment."

Grimmjow made it to the door and turned his head back as he promptly remembered something. "Ichigo is gonna start seein' ya too. Charge whatever ya gotta charge me, but I think it'll be good for 'im."

He didn't really wait for a response, but just left after he spoke.

The first step out of the building and Grimmjow pulled out his pack of cigarettes, he definitely needed a couple. Within a few minutes one cigarette was gone and the second was between his lips, lit up, and nearly halfway gone.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and turned it back on in hopes that Ichigo was ready to leave that psycho for good. Seeing Ichigo was a high priority at this point, he always managed to clear his head of any and all thoughts.

A few seconds after his phone started up, a flurry of vibrations indicating a few missed calls, a lot of unread messages, and only one voicemail alerted him. All of them were from Shawlong. Something wasn't right he could feel his stomach tighten and his heart rate beginning to rise. He opened up the voice message and pressed the phone to his ear.

_Please be good news. _

The message began to play back, but for some reason all he could hear was the siren of an ambulance. People were rushing and something that sounded similar to a rolling shopping cart went past his phone. It wasn't long before a recognizable voice was heard in the midst, it was Shawlong and he was panicking. Before Shawlong could actually speak the message was over. Luckily it was literally a few minutes ago since Shawlong left it. Grimmjow called him back hoping he wasn't too late.

One half of a ring later and Shawlong answered.

"M-Mr. Jaegerjaques!"

A cold chill shot up Grimmjow's spine once he heard Shawlong's shaky voice on the receiving end. Something definitely went down, in all the years he had known Shawlong he never heard him like this.

"Shawlong. The fuck is goin' on?"

"I-I-I don't know what happened! The kid walked out and she just – "

"She just what?! Answer me!"

"S-she hit him. With her c-car! He won't wake up! I called the ambulance and..."

After he noted Ichigo had been hurt, he hadn't heard a word after that. It wasn't Shawlong's fault that he got hurt, but he _knew_ Rukia was going to do something like this. He knew he shouldn't have let Ichigo go by himself, regardless of if he was ready to face her alone or not. He was hurt and Shawlong wasn't proving to be of any help at this point. As livid, distraught, and fearful he was of Ichigo's situation he had to remain level headed. He wasn't the same guy who couldn't control his emotions anymore.

His tone grew cold and decisive; it was time to take charge.

"Relax. That's an order."

"Y-yes, sir."

"Listen to me very carefully. Tell them to take Ichigo to his father's clinic. Ride with them and once ya get there post outside. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Yes, sir!"

_Things couldn't possibly get any worse than this._

* * *

_The last thing he could remember was leaving his old home and everything completely going black. Something bad happened, but he could__n't__ really piece together what it was. He was back in the inverted world and once again he was alone __and muted__. He looked down at his feet and deeply sighed – he was naked again too. _

_**What the hell was up with this place?**_

_Ichigo __scoped out his surroundings hoping to at least find Shiro; he prayed that the entity hadn't truly disappeared since their last endeavor. __He __really needed to know what the hell he was doing back here__._

_He walked toward the edge of the building and sat down, he had to think about how he spawned __Shiro. In order to really do that he had to think about the first time he encountered __him years ago__. _

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

It all started back when he was eight years old.

His mother was picking him up early from Kendo practice since he had been crying and throwing a fit for most of it. Whenever he had come from Kendo practice, she let him sit in the passenger's seat. It made him feel much more grown up. He always felt so safe and comforted when he was with his mother. She always said that he was special in a way that only she could see. Ichigo was too young to understand what it meant, but it still made him very happy.  
Sitting up front in the passenger's seat he didn't really feel the need to ever wear his seatbelt however, Masaki definitely disagreed. She finally approached a stop sign, stopped the car, and unbuckled her own seatbelt to reached over and click Ichigo's across his small body.

She placed a soft kiss to his forehead and spoke to him. "Good boys that wear their seatbelt get sushi after Kendo practice and big boys don't throw fits about wearing them either." She warmly smiled at him and Ichigo smiled back at her and tightly held his seatbelt.

"I'm a good boy Mommy! See! And I'm a big boy too! Lookie, my seatbelt is on!" He laughed eagerly and brightly looked up at his mother as she sat back in her seat. It was usually on special occasions they dined on anything like sushi, but it was still Ichigo's favorite. He always liked when she cooked things like that.

After making sure both sides of the street were clear she gave the car a little gas and began to cross the intersection. Within a matter of a few milliseconds everything took a turn for the worse.

They made it halfway across when another car rear-ended them at full speed. Lucky for Ichigo, he had his seatbelt on so it only really shook him up, his mother on the other hand hadn't been so lucky. At the same speed the car was hit, she slammed headfirst into the steering wheel causing the airbag to instantly pop out and the back of her neck to angle against the head rest at that speed giving her whiplash.

Ichigo was going to throw a fit at being shaken around so much, but when he glanced over at his mother's lifeless form he began to panic. He had never seen so much blood in his life. He could feel the urge to cry build up in his throat, but he just couldn't get it out. He took his seatbelt off and began to tug at his mother's arm hoping to get her to say something.

"Mommy, I took my seatbelt off again. I don't want sushi anymore, I just want you to wake up. Mommy you're bleeding and Daddy can fix you but you have to get up! Mommy, please!"

When the proper authorities finally came, they pronounced her dead on sight. The drug induced man who rammed them, walked away from it all with a slap on the wasn't going to get justice for her death.

Deep down he never forgave himself for his mother's death. If only he had his seatbelt on she would have remembered to have hers on and she wouldn't be...gone.

The day he had to watch his mother get buried in the ground was the day he stopped talking, stopped fighting and stopped eating. There was no reason why he deserved to live, while she did not.

By the time he was thirteen he was diagnosed with manic depression, selective mutism and anorexia nervosa. Toward the end of his final year of middle school he had to change to an alternative lifestyle school due to fights he would pick in his fits of rage. The school would often send Ichigo home with food due to his nearly skeletal form.

He hardly ever spoke anything to his younger sisters, but he was forced to at least eat a bowl of rice each day. He tried to talk to his father everything that was bothering him, but he didn't understand. Keeping silent was easier than, having his father express further disappointment in him. It hurt Ichigo knowing he couldn't go to his father to express himself, but something decent came from it. At fourteen he was prescribed a couple different medications to alter his mood, but they only seemed to make things worse.

Anyone that looked at him funny or said anything to him that he didn't like he would just black out and wake up with blood on his hands. Even with the little energy he had from not eating, he always managed to muster up just enough to defend himself.

Whenever he looked himself in the mirror he would see this dark figure staring back at him, just watching him suffer. He hated that figure.

Once Ichigo had left his adolescent years at fifteen and was in the process of becoming a man, the dark figure he saw embodied himself. He urged Ichigo to fight and to live rather than just to succumb to the pain and hardly survive.

It was then that Ichigo sought out healthier ways to express his pain. Instead of muting himself he made the effort to joined the baseball team and learned to channel his rage through Tae Kwon Do. He showed a sense of self confidence which in turn helped him to avoid the sporadic fits of rage he was thrown into. With all of that going on, he definitely had a reason to eat again so his weight eventually went back up.

If it weren't for Shiro coming when he did, Ichigo would have ended up dead.

**_XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo_**

_Ich__i__go placed his face into his hand and sighed; he had an idea but it wasn't a very good one. If this didn't get Shiro's attention, then that would mean he would have risked his life for nothing. __Shiro liked to make himself apparent when Ichigo's life was on the line. _

_Standing__ up at the edge of the building, __Ichigo__ turned back just to see if anyone was approaching. No__thing but __an array of countless skyscrapers __caught his eye__. He turned back around __and looked down, there was no ground to be seen. __Without another thought he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and leaned forward. He was going to fall. _

_Before his heels could even leave the ground he felt a strong presence behind him with an arm coiled around his abdomen. He was pulled back and was soon pressed against someone bigger, and from the feel of it more muscular than himself._

_It wasn't Shiro, but instead someone __he felt just as safe with._

"_**Ya **__**didn't have to do all this kid**__.__" The man behind him spoke in a deep, __throaty __whisper that made his __body stiffen in response._

"_Grimmjow..." He muttered breathlessly, as he was finally able to speak._

_The loneliness he felt before dissipated and the painful memories that haunted him were replaced with thoughts of the man behind him._

"_**You're finally safe. **__**You aren't goin' anywhere**__." He spoke grazing his unshaven cheek against Ichigo's neck. _

"_I don't want to sir." __He took his bottom lip between his teeth and let himself envelop into him. __He felt so safe and at place in his arms; there truly was no place he would have rather been. _

_His other arm wrapped around Ichigo's waist decreasing the small gap between them. A ghost of a gasp slipped from him as he felt that Grimmjow had been stark naked as well. "What are you even doing here?" _

"_**I'm here because I need to be.**__" _

"_Please Grimmjow, __help me get out of__ here… I want this to be real." _

"_**Just w**__**ake up. You've been asleep for so long.**__" Grimmjow spoke, pressing h__imself tighter to Ichigo's body._

_H__e swooped an arm back to clench his hair __and heard a brief gr__oan__ leave him. "Help me."_

"_**Why did you insist on going by yourself Ichigo**__?" The blunet spoke with his lips pressed to __his neck._

"_I-I wanted to show you that I can be strong." He spoke choking back a moan. _

"_You're strong, but you're also hurt."_

_It all felt so real, as if Grimmjow was actually there talking to him, touching him, __seducing him.__He knew __for some outstanding reason __he had to __get__ up, but he couldn't __figure out why__. _

"_**I need ya to come back." **__Grimmjow whispered. _

_With the last sentence he spoke Ichigo began to feel a bit of pain in his legs._

_Grimmjow let him go __and instantly he__ buckled to the ground as the pain began to spread to his back. He looked up at the man behind him, seething in progressively excruciating pain. _

_The man looked like Grimmjow except, he had a hole right through his abdomen with broken jawbone pieces across his cheek. _

**_Where ha__ve __I__ seen that before?_**

"_**I'm **__**nothin'**__** without y**__**a**__**.**__" He said softl__y; his voice echoing on. __H__is voice a wretched, melancholic tone. "__**It's all my fault."**_

"_Grimmjow…" Ichigo mouthed, but couldn't speak. _

_I__chigo reached his arm up to him as the pain managed to reach his head then everything went black once again._

* * *

Three days passed since the accident occurred. Ichigo was still unconscious and he showed no intimation of waking up anytime soon.

According to his father he didn't have any broken bones, but rather a severe concussion, a stress fracture on his shin, muscle strain on his hamstrings and lower back with a few minor scrapes and bruises riddled just about everywhere else. He was completely stable, but for some reason he just wouldn't wake up.

Grimmjow made it known to the office that his secretary was out, which gave him liable excuse to hardly ever show up. Then again he _did_ own the company, he could show up for a few days out of the year and be fine.

Truthfully, he was hardly able to effectively work without a secretary, and to find it in himself to be productive while Ichigo was injured was impossible. There was no way he could think straight. Everyday he would talk to Ichigo's resting body; he never wanted so desperately for someone to say something back.

_Ya didn't hafta do all this._

_You're finally safe. You aren't goin' anywhere._

_I'm here because I need to be._

_Just wake up. You've been asleep so long._

_Why did you insist on goin' by yourself Ichigo? _

_This is all my fault._

_I need ya to come back._

_I'm nothin' without ya._

He would say those phrases the most, but whenever Ichigo didn't even twitch in response anger and despair would boil inside him. Controlling his anger was getting much more difficult; the longer Ichigo just laid there, the more he wanted to _kill _Rukia. He had done worst in better situations before, so this was only reverting him back to his old ways.

The thought of plunging his arm right through Rukia's chest and ripping out the black hole of a heart she had brought a grin to his face. The psychopath didn't deserve one.

_Yo, asswipe! Get a fuckin' grip. You're not the same guy ya used to be. Ya need to see Dr. Unohana. Soon!_

Grimmjow didn't exactly have a perfect record when it came to his past; each day proved to be a struggle. Growing up he went through a lot of turmoil, with trying to figure out himself out, trying damnedest to achieve his father's acceptance, and honestly just wanting to be normal. When he couldn't do any of it, he acted out, joined a gang, and did a lot of things that to this day deeply haunt him. If it weren't for Sosuke Aizen…

_No. No. No. No. No! Don't fuckin' go there. Not without Dr. Unohana. _

Grimmjow sighed and shifted around in Ichigo's bed. The sun had already risen and he hadn't even managed to sleep for a few seconds. He buried his face in his lover's pillow just to capture his scent that had been there for years and wrapped his arms around it. He missed Ichigo so much.

_What the fuck did I let him do to me?_

With the high number of men he had been with in his lifetime, Grimmjow had never felt like this. Sure many of them used him for his wealth, power, and status, but none of them had ever made him feel so flustered. He was _the _Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, heir of Jaegerjaques Enterprises why should something like this rock him to the core?

There were a few quiet raps at the door before a soft voice spoke behind them. "Grimm-chan, breakfast is almost ready."

A brief smile wrinkled his face as he heard Yuzu speak. There was always some good that came with the bad, even with the fucked up situation he was in now. He finally got a chance to meet Ichigo's family and a few of his old friends that came to visit.

It was interesting to see how much of Ichigo's personality had rubbed off on his younger sisters. Yuzu was cheerful, ambitious, soft-hearted, and passive but she did have a few moments of assertiveness. Karin was always on the go, very easy going, blunt and she always managed to keep a scowl to her face with a smart mouth to match. Grimmjow had a good relationship with his own siblings, but he was envious at how close Ichigo seemed to be with his sisters. They all seemed to care about each other so much.

"I'll be out in a sec Yuzu." He climbed from the bed and went for the laundry basket filled with clean clothes. He was a bit hungry anyway.

He tossed on a clean pair of dark gray Levis, with a crisp white v-neck shirt and black socks. After checking himself out in the mirror, stuffing his cigarettes, lighter, and cell phone into his pocket he gave his hair a simple comb through with his fingers then trailed his palm against the robust cerulean beard that trailed along his jawline.

_I think I'll keep this. Ichigo would like it._

Heading downstairs he could smell the small feast Yuzu prepared; if there was one thing Grimmjow couldn't live without it had to be breakfast food. His stomach rumbled in excitement once his set gaze to spread she laid out.

Crêpes, bacon, eggs, fruit, coffee, and fresh squeezed orange juice. Nelliel definitely had some competition.

"Good morning, Mr. Jaegerjaques." Isshin yawned as he refilled his coffee mug.

"Morning Dr. Kurosaki. How's everything goin'?" He spoke grabbing a mug for himself.

"Not bad, but certainly not good either. I was up all night consulting with doctors at Karakura Hospital.

Grimmjow fixed his coffee the way he liked it and took a long sip from it. "And?"

"Since he is very responsive and all his vitals are excellent, they're thinking it could be something mental. It's like he just gave up." He sighed into his coffee his face growing more depressive as he thought about it.

Grimmjow reassuringly placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a brief squeeze. "In the short time I've known your son I've figured out a one thing for damn sure. He's got fight in 'im."

"I suppose you're right." Isshin nodded and looked up at him with a half-hearted smile. "Although, I wish Ichigo would have met you earlier."

"Yeah, me too."

Yuzu took off the apron she had on and placed it on its respective hook then approached the pair of older men. "It's all ready. Grimm-chan will you go grab Karin from the clinic? She went to check on Onii-chan."

"I can go get her. I want to check on him myself anyway." Isshin said with another yawn.

"No Papa, you are going to sit and eat something. You need a break." Yuzu sternly spoke.

"With all due respect Doc Yuzu's right. Ya need a break. I'll go grab her and check on 'im as well. I wanna see him."

Isshin gave a defeated chuckle and shrugged his shoulders. "You would gang up on a defenseless old man? Ah, Masaki if only you were here."

"Goodness Papa, do you always have to bring her up?" Yuzu spoke with an exasperated smile.

Another smile carved his face as Isshin and Yuzu continued their petty banter, then he walked from the residential area of the home to the clinical side.

_I wish I could be that way with my father._

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

A few doors later and he saw Karin walking out with a clipboard in her hand. She was jotting down a couple things as she continued to venture down the corridor, once she stopped writing she looked up at Grimmjow and flashed a docile half-smile.

"You look awful."

"At least I'm not in a dress and heels." He shot back with a grin, earning him a nice punch in the arm.

"Screw you, it's the uniform Goat Face makes me wear."

"Damn, kid." Grimmjow snickered and rubbed his arm. She definitely had some power. "So, how's he doin'?"

"Better actually. All his vitals are good, he's bathed and I changed his clothes."

"Mind if I go see him?"

"I don't see why not."

Grimmjow gave a curt nod and proceeded toward his room.

"Grimmjow wait."

He stopped once Karin called out for him.

"He was mumbling. I couldn't figure out what he was saying, but it was something. I hope it won't be too longer before he gets up."

"Me too, kid." He said without turning back; he could hear the hurt in her voice.

"And Grimmjow?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't hurt my brother. I don't think he can take it."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He spoke quietly.

_Liar. __You're the reason this happened in the first place._

"Go grab somethin' to eat."

"Alright. Don't be too long Grimm." She said softly before walking off.

Once he heard the clicking of her heels completely disappear he reached for the door handle and stepped into the dimly lit room. The atmosphere changed in a matter of seconds once Karin left him alone. Regardless of how many times he came to see the unconscious orangette, it always managed to shock him. His family seemed to take to the situation better than he thought they would, but then again they were aware of what was going on in his previous relationship.

The steady beeping of the machines with Ichigo's breathing filled the air with anything other than dead silence. He shut the door behind him rather carefully as if he was trying not to disturb him, then took a few steps toward his bed and sat down.

"Hey, Strawberry." He muttered.

"This is the fourth day you've been just layin' here and I gotta admit, I miss hearin' your voice. Hell, I even miss your smart ass mouth." He chuckled dryly and ran his fingers through Ichigo's semi-damp orange locks.

"I've been talkin' a lot with your family and they seem to like me. I'm still stayin' in your room, haven't really left. Heh.

But… this is the first time I've ever met someone else's family that I was involved with. It's different, but I kinda like it.

Before ya panic, I haven't told them about us. I don't even know if there is an us. I would like there to be an us. But for some reason I think they might know that we have somethin' going on. Or we did at least."

_Get a grip. The fuck ya rambling for?_

His hand slithered down from his orange locks to his warm, pale, colorless cheek. "This might sound like a dick thing to say, but I'm glad you're here. You're finally safe, you aren't goin' anywhere and she can't hurt ya anymore."

He leaned down to pressed his forehead to Ichigo's and closed his eyes. "I need ya to come back." A hoarse whisper left him.

"I'm a very powerful man, I control the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. I've never had to beg in my entire life, but I will if that means you'll just wake up. You've been asleep too long. Please, Ichigo just get up. I need ya to wake up. Please…"

Grimmjow raised his head up to look down at Ichigo whom hadn't left his position. Despair tainted his mood so he got up from the bed and sat back down in the chair across from him. He couldn't be so close to Ichigo without feeling like he was going to completely lose it.

"_It's okay to feel Grimmjow, you're only human." The voice echoed in Dr. Unohana's voice._

_I'm __fuckin' __Grimmjow. I don't do __feelings__. __Monsters don't feel._

"I know ya hate when I do this, especially when I'm inside, but I could really use one right now." He fished the carton of cigarettes from his pocket with his lighter.

Once he set the roll of tobacco to his lips and lit it, he took a deep lungful of the smoke in and held it for a moment. The slight burn of the smoke settled, and he slightly parted his lips letting the smoke curl from his mouth.

_Sweet, sweet nicotine. The only thing I actually want to feel. _

He grabbed an empty dish that laid on the small table next to him and flicked the excess ash into it. With his legs spread far apart he rested his elbows on this upper thighs and sunk his head low, the sounds of his machinery with Ichigo's steady breathing filling the room once again.

_At least he's alive Grimm. Count your blessings._

Within a span of a minute the beeping of the machinery began to slightly speed up. Grimmjow thought nothing of it, until he heard a groan. His head shot up and he slipped the cigarette to the corner of his mouth to allow it to hang loosely.

Ichigo's form began to writhe in the bed sheets, his nose was wrinkled, and his eyebrows were closely knitted together. Grimmjow stood up from his seat instantaneously and rushed to his bed. Ichigo's lips formed into an uncomfortable scowl, before he let out another faint groan.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What's going on?!_

Ichigo was responsive, but he never acted like this before. Grimmjow wanted to call for Isshin, but he didn't want to leave his side; bad things happened when he left Strawberry alone.

His cheeks illuminated to a carnation pink, and his lips began moving as if he were talking. Grimmjow positioned an ear closer to his lips and took note of the soft mumbling.

"No smoking. So disgusting."

As if Ichigo's words burned his ear Grimmjow shot his head back up to stare him in the face. His heart nearly stopped once he saw beautiful pools of honey brown staring back up at him. It felt so unrealistic to see soft brown eyes, gazing up at him. He truly missed looking into them, they often told him so much more than Ichigo ever spoke.

"Hey." Ichigo gravely said.

"Hey, kid." Grimmjow quietly retorted, his body completely frozen in shock.

* * *

Once he left the inverted world, everything was dark and silent for a while. It felt like an eternity had passed before he started hearing things again.

First it was Karin's voice. Not only could he hear her, but he could feel everything she was doing too.

Apparently he was in his father's clinic and had been unconscious for a little while, and Grimmjow never left.

He was in a bit of pain, but what worried him the most was the fact that he couldn't even move. He tried opening his eyes, screaming out, moving his fingers and toes, but nothing seemed to do the trick. When he could feel the tears from her eyes hit his arm, he managed to get her name out a few times.

_Karin! Karin! Karin!_

It was barely audible, but it made her stop crying.

Too much time had passed since he had heard his sister's voice, it was unfortunate that this had to be the catalyst to get him to hear it again.

When Grimmjow started speaking to him and touching him so gently, he tried mumbling again. It was frustrating that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't just open his eyes or reach up and touch him back.

He was so close to springing back to life as Grimmjow bared his soul to him, but the moment he sat down Ichigo was pulled back into the darkness.

_Dammit!_

The smell of cigarette smoke invaded his nostrils and that completely crossed the line. He mustered up as much strength as he could find and managed to get out a few brief words. The smoke got stronger as Grimmjow got closer and he could feel himself starting to wake up.

His eyes slowly opened and they were greeted by a set of crystalline blues. He felt groggy as if he had woken up from a great nap, but at the same time very well rested.

After the brief exchange of words, Ichigo weakly managed to sit up. An IV was connected to his arm, breathing tubes in his nose, with heart monitoring pads to his chest. He carefully removed them all with a slight grimace and sighed in contentment. None of those were remotely comforting.

Grimmjow stood there, silently, staring at him as if he suddenly sprouted a second head. The cancer stick that hung freely from his full lips fell to the ground, luckily the ember had lost it's illumination long before it hit the floor. Ichigo hadn't even been up for five minutes and he already was getting irritated with Grimmjow's behavior. For a very wealthy man, he had the manners of a street thug.

"Are you just gonna stare at me or – "Ichigo began with a roll of his eyes, but was cut off by a pair of soft lips pressing against his own.

This was wrong. Karin, Yuzu, a nurse, or even his father could walk in and see them like this. However, it was an adrenaline rush, and he didn't want it to stop.

He dreamt about this. He missed this. He craved this.

He hooked his arm around Grimmjow's neck pulling him deeper into the kiss. Their lips parted and began crushing against each other. Tongues clashed against each other, lips quietly smacked against each other, and soft admittances of pleasure broke the silence.

Everything stopped before the kiss could develop into anything further. Grimmjow pulled back, cupping Ichigo's face in his hands. His blue eyes darkened and clouded, his jaw clenched, and his breathing heavy.

"Don't you ever fuckin' scare me like that again." He pressed his forehead to Ichigo's once again and pressed another kiss to his lips. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Ichigo said with a thick swallow. He could tell his face was burning an intense crimson.

"I should take you right here, right now, but I'll have some restraint." He smirked with a bit of mirth to his tone. Grimmjow sat down beside him, placing his hand carefully over his knee.

"What's stopping you?" Ichigo smirked in return.

"Want the honest truth?"

Ichigo shrugged with a slight tilt of his head.

He had an amused grin with a cute snort as he spoke. "Ya haven't brushed your teeth in four days."

_Presenting the immature man-child known as Grimmjow everyone… _

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and tried his best to keep his scowl as standoffish as possible, but the amusement was infectious. "I was unconscious! Besides, I'm sure you haven't either, you've been staying here. I don't see a toothbrush with your name on it."

"Well, I've sorta been usin' your old one." He started laughing as well. "The little pink one with strawberries all over it is yours right?"

For some reason he found that pretty hilarious, his laughing grew more intense as he put more thought into Grimmjow using the toothbrush he described.

"F-Fuck you!"

Tears began to form in the corner of his eyes so he tried to calm down. Ichigo's laughter began to die down, but it started back up once he heard Grimmjow let out a pig-like snort in the midst of his own laughter.

"No!" He barely managed to get out as his merriment continued. He wrapped his arms around his sides to appease the pain that was starting to form.

"Fuck! I haven't done that since I was kid!" Grimmjow choked out.

Come to think of it, Ichigo had never really seen Grimmjow so jovial before. Seeing him laugh reminded him that Grimmjow really wasn't too much older than he was. He gave off a much older vibe, but he had his moments of youth; those were really the moments Ichigo cherished. Grimmjow was just a normal person at the end of the day, no matter how many nice suits he wore or amount of stocks he had could change that.

Their shared laughter eventually died down, and they just ended up looking at each other with goofy grins plastered to their faces. Grimmjow had his head rested on Ichigo's chest, with a youthful, boyish look to his eyes.

_Has he always been this cute?_

"I've never seen you like this." He combed his fingers through the silky waves of blue tresses.

A throaty hum left him, as his eyes slipped closed. "Like what?"

The smile Ichigo donned widened as he thought about it, "So happy."

"Well, I got my secretary back. I can finally get back to work."

"So you're telling me I'm not getting sick days?" Ichigo grinned as he played tit for tat with his boss.

"You've been asleep for nearly four days straight, I think you've had enough rest. 'Sides you're not even sick." Grimmjow smirked.

"I think I'll have a little chat with the guys in human resources about this."

"I don't think that'll go too well."

"And why not?"

"I kinda own the company." Grimmjow chuckled once again. "If I so desired the HR department could just be fired with just one little e-mail."

"That sounds like a misuse of power Mr. Jaegerjaques."

"Ya haven't seen anything yet, Mr. Kurosaki. Just wait 'til I get you home."

_Whoa. _

Ichigo stopped running his fingers through his hair once his cheeks stung a bright blush. He needed to change the subject. "Would you mind getting me a wheelchair? I don't think my legs are strong enough to walk yet. I still can't feel my toes."

Grimmjow raised his head from Ichigo's chest. "I could just carry you."

Ichigo lowered his gaze into his lap, the warmth to his face intensifying. "I'm not wearing anything underneath the gown." He looked up at the man without raising his face.

"Oh, yeah?" Grimmjow glanced at him wolfishly.

"Don't look at me like that." Ichigo chewed into his bottom lip.

He perked an eyebrow up and swiped his bottom lip with his tongue. "Like what?"

_Oh fuck._

"Like you're gonna eat me."

"Oh, I will kid. In due time. Trust me."

"Fuck..." Ichigo huskily whispered.

"Relax Strawberry. Your body is still recovering. I want you at full health and I need ya willing and able for what I have in mind." He gently gripped his chin. "We're gonna take it nice and slow, yeah?"

_What in the hell did he have in mind?_

"Yes, sir." He mumbled earning him a chaste kiss.

When Ichigo was in that world he created, the persona of Grimmjow had managed to seduce him without even touching him sexually. It had been so long since he desired one person that intensely. He longed to be completely captivated by the man, in mind, body and spirit.

On the flip-side, he was scared to just completely submit himself to another person. He handed Rukia all of himself on a silver platter and she just threw to the ground, like he was nothing. The physical act of being with another man sort of threw him for a loop as well. How did sex even work with two guys exactly?

He shook his head. Now was not a good time to be thinking about this.

"Now, where are the wheelchairs? I think it's time we went and talked to your family."

Ichigo could feel the blood in his body go ice cold. Facing Rukia and get hit by a car was one thing, but facing his family was going to be much worse. They warned him about her, they tried to help him get away, but he turned his back. He chose her over them. His father had to have been so disappointed, his sisters probably looked at him with shame, and his mother…

"Hey, no. Stop doing that."

"I'm not doing anything."

"You're overthinking this, I can tell when ya do that. Those orange caterpillars on your forehead squeeze pretty close together and form this 'v' lookin' thing in between 'em. Well that or ya end up lookin' at your fingers or the floor, or whatever ya find more interesting."

_Orange caterpillars? He's talking about my fucking eyebrows. Prick. _

With the hit at his eyebrows being an exception, Ichigo was surprised to hear that Grimmjow paid so much attention to the finer details. No one ever cared to do that before.

"I'm just a little anxious. You don't know my family like I do."

"They're all gonna be happy to see ya Ichi. Ya didn't do anything wrong and we all know that. At least lets go have breakfast, then if you're that uncomfortable I'll take ya back to my place. Fair?"

_Since when has Grimmjow been negotiable? How long was I out?_

"The wheelchairs are in the back of the clinic, near the rear exit."

"Thanks." He flashed his ever-so charming half-smirk then left the room.

The first time Ichigo ventured off into doing something he wasn't ready for he ended up in a coma. Hopefully this time if something goes south, he won't be so lucky to survive.

* * *

"Look what I found." Grimmjow grinned as he walked into the Kurosaki's dining room.

They dropped their small conversations and looked up at Grimmjow, each with curiosity bubbling in their eyes. He held the door open and Ichigo slowly rolled himself inside with his face down staring avidly at his lap. As he made his way inside Grimmjow could feel their attitudes quickly change and the tension beginning to rise.

Grimmjow could tell the family was shocked to see Ichigo actually up and moving, yet none of them made an effort to speak. Instead they all just stared at him with an uncomfortable silence. Knowing them all, the blunet was expecting lots of tears, hugs, and promises of new beginnings, yet everyone just stared at him. It was making _him_ uncomfortable. He couldn't even imagine how Ichigo was feeling.

He glanced down at his bruised and beaten companion to see that, his hands had turned ghost white from gripping at the wheels so tightly. His now completely dry hair drooped down over his face, but failed to mask the guilty look in his eyes.

_If anyone should feel guilty, it's me. I shouldn't have pushed you to go._

Isshin cleared his throat and Ichigo looked up at him.

"Son, what are you doing out of bed? You should be resting."

Ichigo didn't respond.

"Do you feel okay?" Karin was the next to ask.

Ichigo only gave her a grave glance in response.

"Son please don't start this again, talk to us. Please."

Ichigo kept silent.

"You must be hungry Onii-chan, sit and eat with us." Yuzu chimed in.

He gave his younger sister a strange look, which made her shoulders drop and her chipper demeanor diminish.

There was a stagnant silence once all of them had been ignored. Grimmjow opened his mouth to perhaps mediate things, but was caught off guard by what Karin had to say next.

"You better not be going back to that psycho bitch after what she did to you Ichigo."

"Karin!" Both Yuzu and Isshin yelled at the same time.

"No, no, no don't either of you even start." She quickly perked up from the table dropping the chair she was sitting on to the floor. "We're all thinking it. And you know what if you go back to her after all this Ichigo, maybe you _do _deserve to die. Maybe that will get the message through your thick skull! If you go back to her I will _never _forgive you!"

Before anyone could say anything more she stormed into the kitchen and moments later out the back door marked by a loud slam.

Grimmjow expected Ichigo to at least respond to that, but instead he just kept silent and sunk deeper in his chair.

"Karin! No she didn't mean that!" Yuzu hopped up from her seat and walked over to him. "She's just scared for you Onii-chan, we're all scared for you!" She placed her hands on his shoulders. "Please just come eat with us!" Her soft voice practically screaming at this point.

Ichigo didn't even look her in the face. He couldn't.

"Enough!" Isshin stood up from the table, his authoritative tone sending a chill through Grimmjow's spine. "Calm down Yuzu. Go find Karin. Now."

Yuzu left without another word, but kept her eyes on Ichigo with a familiar pain set in her innocent gaze.

Grimmjow reached down grabbing Ichigo's hand from the wheel and held it within his own, carefully stroking his thumb over his knuckles. When he felt Ichigo's fingers weakly grasp back at his fingers he glanced down at him from his peripherals. Confusion circled in his light brown eyes giving Grimmjow a lot more insight. Ichigo wasn't saying anything because he truly didn't know what to say. He was riddled with guilt, confusion, and fear. He needed some sort of guidance. Yelling at him wasn't going to get him to understand.

"No one is upset with you son, but your sister is right. We're all just concerned for your well being. You know that don't you?"

Ichigo looked over at his father and shrugged with his head lowering once again.

"A shrug is all you can manage? Wait a minute. Have you been taking your medication?" His eyes narrowed as he spoke.

_Medication?_

Ichigo just shakily sighed and shook his head.

"Of course not." He leaned back against the table with his head lowered. "You know happens when you don't take your medication Ichigo!"

They all spoke from the heart and with love, but it didn't really seem that way. Grimmjow could see why Ichigo was so hesitant when it came to talking to his family or to people in general. They didn't know how to get through to him.

Luckily, he did.

Grimmjow cleared his throat. "Dr. Kurosaki, would you mind if I had a moment alone with your son?"

Obviously exasperated and frustrated Isshin left toward the kitchen, "It'll be anything short of a miracle if you can get him to talk, let alone eat anything if he hasn't taken his medicine. I'll return with my daughters, hopefully he'll stop this immaturity and actually speak."

"Thank you." Grimmjow muttered, dismissing Isshin from the room. With the back door slamming shut indicating Isshin's departure from the house Grimmjow let go of Ichigo's hand and stood in front of him.

"Hey."

He kept silent.

"Ichigo."

The boy didn't even attempt to look up.

_No more Mr. Nice guy._

He reached down cupping his chin within his palm and forced him to look up. "You will look at me when I'm talking to you and you will respond when I speak to you. You want to defy your family, that's fine. But you will not defy me Kurosaki. Do I make myself clear?"

Blanch, white cheeks brightened to a delicious pink, and his bottom lip folded beneath his teeth as he made eye contact with Grimmjow.

"Alright." He muttered.

"Hold yourself with a little more respect and with more confidence. You may be injured, but you are a man, not a child. You are much better than this."

"Okay." He spoke with a bit more bass to his voice with his shoulders squaring.

"I don't care if you don't have anything to say to your family, but you will treat them with respect."

"But, they –"

"I don't recall askin' for your opinion. You're going to do as you're told."

Ichigo squirmed in his seat the pink to his cheeks darkening to a pale crimson. "Okay."

"Try that again, kid."

"Yes, sir."

"Good boy."

It could have been the fact that he hadn't really "relieved" himself in four days or the fact that Ichigo willingly conceded to him, but he was very aroused. Even though the orangette was in need of some sort of control in his life Grimmjow didn't want to just take advantage of it. He wanted to give Ichigo as much power and control over his own life as he could take, but it was obvious that in a sense he was clueless. Giving too much power to someone who didn't know what to do with it was a great recipe for disaster.

It took all his willpower not to carry Ichigo upstairs to his bedroom and truly test how submissive he could be. Darkened pools of maroon were watching him, waiting, anticipating his next command. He took another step forward, strategically putting the erection outlined in his jeans to his eye level.

Without a word the orbs trailed down to get an eyeful of his stiff cock imprisoned in his jeans. With his lips parted a heated breath left him; he looked back up at Grimmjow silently asking for permission to touch it.

"Do as you're told and I'll let ya do more than just touch."

"Yes, Mr. Jaegerjaques."

A few seconds later, and the Kurosaki clan returned to catch the men trapped in their heated gaze. Grimmjow was completely aware that they had returned, but it didn't really matter to him. He got the boy to talk; that's more than what they could do.

He narrowed his eyes, swiping his tongue over his bottom lip once, then twice and walked behind Ichigo. As he pushed Ichigo toward the table, he leaned over just once to huskily speak into his ear.

"Good things happen when you do as you're told. Think about what'll happen if you don't."

Ichigo whimpered quietly in response, then looked up at the table where his family began to take their seats.

"What do ya have to say Ichigo?" Grimmjow asked as he took his seat next to him. The strawberry was silent for a few moments, but began speaking once Grimmjow placed a hand on knee.

"This all looks delicious Yuzu, but I'm not really hungry right now. Definitely in a little while, you know I always loved crêpes."

She gave him the strangest grin and nodded her head, "That's okay Onii-chan. I'll put some away for you."

"Oh, so you're finally talking again?" Karin spoke upon popping a blueberry into her mouth.

"Yeah actually, and since I am talking… who is this Toshiro guy you kept talking about?"

Her jaw nearly hit the table when he muttered her not-so-secret admirer's name. "You heard all that?! Okay, you can just stop talking now. I don't care anymore."

"You and Toshiro? Really Karin?" Yuzu tilted her head slightly then took a forkful of the breakfast pastry into her mouth. "I totally saw it coming."

"You aren't so innocent either Yuzu. How's Kon?" Ichigo smirked.

The blonde dropped the silverware she had in her hand and her eyes widened. "I-I.. U-Um..."

Grimmjow leaned back in his seat watching the family slowly get back into their flow of things. Now that Ichigo had woken up the conversations became much more lively. Seeing Ichigo act so brotherly even with everything that went on, was attractive to say the least. He wanted to jump in on the conversation the clan was having, but he enjoyed just watching and eating his food.

He glanced over at Isshin – who had kept quiet the entire time – and noticed the man was sobbing with a smile to his face.

"You alright Doc?" He asked while finishing up his second cup of coffee.

"All my beautiful children have grown up and have come together once more and they all have boyfriend's they think I don't know about."

All three of them instantly stopped their bickering and looked over at their father.

"Oh, Masaki we are going to have so many beautiful grandchildren!"

Grimmjow snickered then caught a deadly glance from Ichigo and covered his mouth with a napkin to hide the huge grin that carved his face. He moved to excuse himself from the table and stood behind his lover with his hands behind his back. This could get very ugly.

Normally when he heard anything that had to do with children Grimmjow would hit the ground running in the opposite direction. For some reason though, the idea of settling down and finding a way to have a with Ichigo was comforting. He wouldn't mind having a house full of little people that were half him and half Strawberry.

As Karin dragged Isshin by the back of his shirt into the kitchen, Grimmjow gave Ichigo's shoulder a squeeze, making him look up with a questioning look.

There was a loud crash and the sound of Isshin crying out for Masaki once again. Grimmjow looked over at Yuzu with concern in his eyes and she rolled her eyes and was next to head back there.

"Should we go check on him?" Grimmjow warily asked.

Ichigo chuckled and shook his head. "My dad is retired military, trust me he can take two sixteen year old girls."

"Ah."

There was another crash in the kitchen, with Yuzu yelling out for Karin to calm down.

_What the hell were they doing back there?_

"So, secret boyfriend?" Ichigo spoke enunciating each syllable.

"What about it?" He sounded more annoyed than he meant to.

Grimmjow truly hated that term with a passion. Boyfriend.

"I heard what you were saying to me too. I wanna be a thing. Is that even possible?" He tried to remain confident, but Grimmjow could sense the insecurity in his tone.

"Mr. Kurosaki, are ya trying to ask me to be your boyfriend?"

"I might be Mr. Jaegerjaques."

Grimmjow laughed quietly then brought his hand to stroke a spot behind Ichigo's ear. "What if I were to say yes?"

"Then we could go to your place and discuss the terms and conditions." Ichigo grinned up at him with his eyes slipping closed.

"Terms and conditions, eh?"

"I think that's what you higher executive businessmen like to call it. Yeah."

Grimmjow chuckled briefly and rolled his eyes.

_Baka._

In all honesty, Grimmjow didn't do 'boyfriends'.

Partners? Sure.

Lovers? Absolutely.

Fuck buddies? Fuck yeah.

But, boyfriend? It was just too personal. It was title that held too much expectation, and in the case of his last relationship led to nothing but disappointment and trust issues.

However, Ichigo was a fresh start and was nothing like anyone Grimmjow had ever been involved with before. Dr. Unohana warned him not to let his past affect him; if he was going to start fresh he was more than willing to do it with Ichigo.

If Ichigo could work up the courage to ask him out, then Grimmjow could let go of his immature feelings and give the boy a shot. He was going to accept the hatred of the word for what it was worth. Ichigo was officially his and he didn't care if the whole world knew.

"Lets get outta here then. Boyfriend."

* * *

_**AN: **__Hey guys! I tried to get this chapter up last week, but being an adult happened and I had to work twelve hour shifts all week -.- ! After many requests, I decided to extend this fic for not one, not two, , but another five chapters! *pauses for the cheers and applause* Thank you, I don't deserve it~_

_I made this chapter super long, because it's the highest point of the fic. There's going to be a lot more twists and turns, but this is pretty much the highlight of it all. I hope you all are enjoying it so far and I can't wait to get started on the next chapter (Which is going to contain an obscene amount of smut ;D )_

_Rate and review if you can, and don't forget I'll answer any questions and accept any criticism. _

_Thanks for reading, _

_~Shawn_


	7. A Fresh Start

_**AN: **__Hello readers! __Af__ter a few requests I decided to make this chapter a little lengthier than the others. __If I haven't thanked those of you for favoriting, reviewing, and subscribing I'm gonna do that now. Believe me, I notice when you guys do it and I truly do appreciate all the love, so thank you! Alright enough of this mushyness (there's enough of that in this chapter ;D), but __I'm pleased to say that there's maybe four more chapters left in this little story of mine, and believe me y'all are gonna be in for a twist haha! _

_Alright though, e__nough of my babble, enjoy!  
_

* * *

"No, I don't care anymore! It's over!" Ichigo snapped out at her once again. He left the bathroom and made moves to the bedroom.

It hurt that this was the only way to get Rukia to wake up and face the fucked up reality that she made, but it had to be done.

"It's not over until I say it's over." She barked out as she followed him into the bedroom.

He didn't even look back at her, but went to the closet to grab his backpack; she continued yelling at him as he packed a few articles of clothing. Before he could sling the bag over his shoulder, her hands quickly snatched it away from him.

"No! No the fuck you don't! I bought you these! These are my clothes and that's my backpack, everything in this place belongs to me!"

Ichigo chuckled to himself and shrugged. "Keep it. Keep all of it since its all yours. I don't need your money."

He tried to walk past her but she put her hands up to shove him backwards, tears of anger rolled down her now bright red cheeks. "Stop this Ichigo!"

"Move."

"No! You aren't going to leave me alone! I can't lose someone else! You would leave me after everything that's happened to me?"

_That was fucking low._

"Hisana's death has nothing to do with me. Don't you dare try and use that shit against me! Now, move."

"She. Left. Me. All. Alone!" She hit his chest with every word she spoke, then with the final word she stopped and lowered her head. "… you're all I have left." Her small fists rested on his chest, and she fell forward putting her weight on him forcing him to hold her.

Every time Ichigo tried to leave, Rukia managed to use that against him and out of guilt and compassion he stayed. He knew the feeling of being alone, and it was a pain he would never want anyone to go through.

The fiery anger he held in his heart cooled once she revealed her true feelings, it was always hard to leave her like this. It was always hard to see her hurt so much. It was always hard to know that no matter how much he tried, no matter how much he allowed her to do so much harm to him, that he couldn't help her.

"Look, I know things aren't exactly perfect between you and Byakuya, but you aren't alone." He wrapped his arms around her small, trembling form and ran his fingers through her damp hair.

"That monster wants nothing to do with me. He hates me. He blames me for Hisana's death…" She sobbed into his chest.

"Hisana was terminally ill, there's no way that it could have been your fault. Speaking from experience, I know he doesn't hate you. A big brother never holds hatred for someone that looks up to him."

Rukia looked up at him innocently, her big doe eyes wet and swollen. The eye-makeup she wore now utterly ruined as it streaked down her face. Whenever she looked up at him like this, he could feel himself melting. He really loved her.

"Ichigo, I'm so sorry. For everything." Her tone tamed and broken.

"You know I can never hold anything against you." He smiled down at her and cupped her cheeks into his hands, his thumbs swiping away the tears from the corners of her plum eyes.

"I-I know I have a problem and I know I need help. It's just that… if Byakuya found out about it he'd just…"

"No. Don't worry about that, I know someone who can get you the help you need."

"Will Byakuya ever find out?"

"Not unless you want him to, but I can't help you unless you let me go. I need some help too. Two broken people can't fix each other up, it doesn't work that way."

She nodded with a soft giggle, her cheeks warming up in his palms. "Grimmjow's really gotten to you Ichi."

_You have no idea._

It was his turn to blush that time and a silly half-grin grew on his face, "This isn't about me."

A sigh left her small form as she calmed down, her eyes closed for a moment as a pregnant pause filled the atmosphere.

"So what will it be? Are you willing to let me go so you can get help?"

Her eyes opened and lowered to his chest. "I don't want to lose you..."

"I feel like I lost you a long time ago." He cupped her chin, raising her face to make eye contact with her again. "I will be with you every step of the way, but we can't keep living like this, it isn't healthy. We both deserve a new chance. A clean slate y'know?"

"Yeah." Her voice cracked indicating more tears were bound to come.

"So?" His tone more eager than he sought out to be.

"I'll do it, but for you Ichigo. I owe it to you."

"You don't owe me anything, you know all I've ever wanted was for you to be clean and happy. Do it for you – you owe that to yourself."

She nodded and without another word she pulled herself from his arms and stepped out of his way. "I'm going to get myself together, then we can get this process started."

The woman could hardly even stand, even with the doorframe holding her up. The mix of all the drugs still in her system must have still been in effect. She was in no condition to walk by herself, let alone drive.

"Do you want help?"

"No, I'm gonna have to get used to doing things myself. I just won't wear heels." She weakly smiled up at him.

He didn't want to crush what little pride she had left, so he curtly nodded his head and smiled back at her. "Okay. I'll meet you out front."

In a few minutes he was downstairs and out the front door, he tugged his work phone from his pocket to glance at the time. Unfortunately, Grimmjow was still in his session with Dr. Unohana so he opted to call Shawlong. Neither of them could legally drive and Ichigo wanted to get Rukia some kind of help while she was still so willing to go.

He couldn't get a decent signal by the front door so he began wandering about to find a semi-decent signal. Standing in the middle of the street, he had soon found a rather weak signal; it was honestly all he needed. He pressed the speed dial number for his unofficial driver and pressed the receiver to his ear.

The call went through and Shawlong picked up, but the call was breaking up. "Mr. Koufang? Can you hear me?" He heard the man's soothing deep tone, but it was muffled by the sound of static. He put his finger into his other ear to focus on what he was saying, before muttering once again.

"Hello? Are you still there?" He waited once again, only to hear a bit more static. He took a few steps deeper into the street and pressed the phone closer to his ear. That was enough for the signal to become perfect, he couldn't move from that spot.

"Yes, Mr. Kurosaki is everything alright?"

"Everything is great. In fact I need –" He was mid-sentence once the sound of screeching tires against concrete caught his attention. He snapped his head back and saw that Rukia was in the drivers seat of her car.

_No. _

She was only a few meters behind him, and before he knew it the violet tinted sports car was speeding back toward him and he was hit. At the speed she was backing out, the garage door across the street was the only thing that managed to stop her impact.

All he could feel was crippling pain in his head as he slammed to the ground, with a tearing sensation in his back and his legs. He wanted to get up, but he couldn't even open his eyes.

He was so just so tired. He just wanted to sleep.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

"Ichigo!" A familiar voice yelled out to him tearing him from the dream he was having.

His eyes snapped open and the pain that was encompassing his body disappeared along with any memory he had of the dream. Grimmjow was sitting up next to him, his concerned crystalline eyes practically glowing in the light of the full moon.

"Ya okay?" His deep voice heavily sated in drowsiness.

_That sounded way sexier than it should have. _

"I'm fine. I just had the dream again." He sat up using the headboard to support himself.

"Can ya remember anything this time?" Grimmjow reached over grazing his finger over the shell of his ear.

"No, Sir." He tried to keep the disappointment from his voice.

"Hey, hey it's okay Strawberry. Doc said it's gonna take some time before ya can really internalize what happened." He soothingly whispered.

"It's been nearly two months and I can't remember a damn thing that happened, but I just have the strongest feeling that she didn't do this to me on purpose."

"Ichigo, don't start this again." His fingers dropped from his ear as exasperation wavered in his voice. "She's a psychopath, and she's done shit like this before. Were all those times on accident too?"

"Well no Sir, but –"

"Exactly. No." He sighed. "Look, I know ya don't wanna make the decision whether or not ya wanna press charges until she's released from rehab, but ya have to get some kinda closure. Ya can't even sleep most nights because of this."

"I know." Ichigo chewed at the inside of his lip and looked up into his eyes. "Can we go see her tomorrow? It's the first day she's allowed to have visitors."

"We?" He asked completely dumbfounded.

"Please? I don't want to go by myself." Ichigo placed his hand to Grimmjow's naked chest with his fingers grazing over the big, blue Omega sign tattooed on his right pectoral.

"Alright. You're gonna have to work out the details."

"Easy."

"And reschedule the meetings I have."

"Consider it done."

"And have my coffee hot and made the way I like it in the morning."

"Is that all?" Ichigo grinned at him.

"And breakfast?" Grimmjow smirked in response before taking the back of his neck carefully into his palm.

"That's something you're gonna have to earn." He spoke upon swiping his tongue over his bottom lip, before chewing into it.

"Oh, really?" The blunet's fingers snaked into Ichigo's hair and slightly tugging at the locks.

"Yes, Sir." He gasped softly, with his mouth forming a small 'O' shape.

Since the accident occurred Ichigo had been undergoing physical therapy a few times a week as an alternative to taking medication along with regularly talking to Dr. Unohana. As it turned out, Ichigo was naturally passive and had a lot of pent up aggression he needed to get out. She explained to him that there were healthy ways to express both things while empowering him in the process.

As per Dr. Unohana's advice, Ichigo needed to explore his newfound sexuality, become more comfortable with his body and test his limits. Doing so would actually help relieve a lot of tension he had and give them both an opportunity to learn new things. He was ready for it, but Grimmjow wasn't as willing; they hadn't even gone farther than kissing.

Ichigo leaned into him brushing their noses together. Grimmjow tried to pull away from him, but he hooked an arm around his neck to keep him close. "You won't hurt me, it's okay." He spoke before taking Grimmjow's mouth into a kiss.

The kiss started slow and soft, their lips meshed with each other. Their tongues tasting, sliding, and exploring. Ichigo moved to straddle the man's lap and was met with a hand cupping his ass. Ichigo ran his hands down Grimmjow's well defined chest, and brushed his fingers over the scar right above his defined abdominals.

In nothing short of a few seconds Grimmjow lost his docile demeanor and his dominance became much more apparent. The hand on his ass was now a greedy grasp met by a solitary smack that echoed through the silent room. The kiss evolved to Ichigo's tongue following his lead submitting to every move he did. Grimmjow's free hand went to Ichigo's hair tactfully jerking his head back to expose his neck leading to hungry bites to the tender flesh. It was rough and some of it was slightly painful, but it was all Ichigo was familiar with, it was his territory, he couldn't do gentle; it was never enough.

With a few appreciative groans leaving Ichigo, his windpipe was met with a hand slightly squeezing it. He tensed as the traumatic memories flashed in his mind, but relinquished it all once he was met with a salacious, lustrous glimpse of blue eyes. Ichigo stared back at him, wantonly, his body attuned to meet whatever the man desired. All he wanted was to utterly please the man beneath him, give him his body to do whatever he saw fit. Submission was his greatest strength and his deadliest weakness.

"Ya don't wanna see this side of me." Grimmjow pressed his nose to Ichigo's before letting go of this throat.

Ichigo couldn't believe how turned on he had gotten with the rough treatment he was given. He wasn't the only one who wanted it, he could feel Grimmjow's arousal pressed against his ass. The fact that he could affect someone like Grimmjow in a way like this, was definitely empowering. He may have been submitting himself to Grimmjow, but he still had control of it all.

"Let me show you how much I do."

Grimmjow reached back to smack his ass once again, then he folded his arms behind his neck and leaned back against the headboard.

"Lets see."

* * *

It was hard enough seeing Ichigo laid out in the hospital for so long, but it was much worse watching him struggle each day with what happened. Even though he escaped, it didn't mean the aftereffects were gone. Seeing how much he was hurting physically and psychologically each and every day, was beginning to take it's toll on both of them.

He wanted to start their newfound relationship strong and at his own discretion, as he always did, but he couldn't. Truthfully, he was scared of hurting the strawberry. He didn't want to do anything to run him off or drag him down deeper into his depression.

It wasn't helping in the fact that he was deftly ignoring both of their sexual needs, but he felt like he didn't have any other choice. Ichigo needed to be taught and trained to properly please Grimmjow and both physically and mentally he didn't feel like Ichigo was ready for it.

With Ichigo straddling his lap wearing a pair of boxerbriefs – that conformed to his body rather well since he began eating again – while staring at him with 'fuck me' eyes, Grimmjow could feel his self-control waning. Then once he trailed his fingers over the single scar above his abs, he completely lost every ounce of self-restraint. He was testing Grimmjow's limits.

_Two can play at that game._

He anticipated Ichigo's breakdown once he placed a firm hand around his throat. Instead his honey eyes flashed a metallic gold hue and began to practically beg for him. How could he say no to that? With his arms folded behind his head he gave Ichigo complete control to do whatever he saw fit; he hoped he wasn't going to regret this.

Soft lips met with his collarbone, which trailed down to his pectorals, and stopped at his hardened nipples. Pools of sultry brown stared up at him, surveying his reaction as a tongue circled around both of them, one-by-one. A hum of approval left him as a heated breath left his parted lips.

Progressing down toward the scar on his abdomen, Grimmjow could feel his entire form stiffen and his chest tighten. The scar was a permanent reminder of why his previous lifestyle was not a good fit for him. Ichigo must have felt him tense up, as he only placed a tender kiss to it before moving down to his happy trail.

_No one's ever done that before… _

He couldn't think too far into the act as Ichigo had made quick moves to his crotch. His nose nuzzled against the outline of his cock through the thin fabric of his underwear. When his tongue swiped over the wet spot of precum on them, his cock began to throb. With an appreciative hum from the treat on his underwear, Ichigo tugged the garment down to Grimmjow's knees. His eyes widened and his jaw nearly fell off it's hinges when he got a direct view of his cock. It was hard to believe that after all this time, Ichigo had never seen his cock fully erect before.

_Don't back out now baby. _

Grimmjow chuckled as Ichigo took his erection into his hand to closely analyze it. His thin fingers had just barely managed to coil around the shaft, before he tugged down. Carefully, he revealed the hidden head of his cock as the foreskin completely rolled down. He looked up at Grimmjow, his gaze begging permission to continue his exploration.

"The hell are ya waitin' for?" Grimmjow smirked.

A scrumptious pink crept upon his cheeks, as he was granted permission to progress. With his hand at the base of his cock to hold his erection pointed up, he took no haste in taking it into his mouth. Grimmjow let out a throaty exhale as Ichigo's lips wrapped around the head, with his tongue tracing circles around the slit.

"Fuck…" He hissed out softly as with his eyes rolling shut.

Ichigo lowered his head filling his mouth with Grimmjow's cock, and as he rose back up a soft slurping sound was heard. He went up and down taking him in deeper with each downward stroke; drool collected at the palm of his hand so he rested it on Grimmjow's upper thigh. With the new opportunity Grimmjow brought his hand to the back of his head, guiding him to speed up.

"I'm getting close, kid…" He warned with a groan.

In the spur of the moment, Grimmjow decided to test Ichigo's limits once again. He gave a strong thrust upward and forced Ichigo's head all the way down to completely fill his throat. To his surprise Ichigo only hummed around his cock in appreciation and tried his best to swallow around him. Grimmjow's jaw clenched as his hips fell down to the bed, and let go of his head. With his throat cleared, Ichigo began pumping at Grimmjow's cock once again.

He had seriously underestimated the strawberry's abilities.

Blue eyes cracked open as he felt the pressure in his cock starting build up, it was coming. Ichigo seductively glanced up at him, then took Grimmjow into his throat in a one fluid motion. He went up and down taking him into his throat once, then twice, and on the third time Grimmjow couldn't hold back.

"Ohh fuuuuuck Ichi-go!" His back arched off the headboard and his entire body tensed as he let everything explode in the back of Ichigo's throat. His hips bucked up into his mouth as each load shot from his cock. Ichigo swallowed as much as he could before pulling up, and letting the remainder of Grimmjow's seed dribble from the corners of his mouth. Grimmjow's spent cock fell flat against his thigh; Ichigo looked up at him with lust still dark in his eyes. He wanted more.

"You're insatiable." Grimmjow chuckled before pulling Ichigo up to straddle him again. He brought their lips into another kiss, and let out a throaty groan as he tasted his seed. He reached down to check if Ichigo had gotten off as well. Much to his surprise once again, he hadn't even taken his own underwear off, let alone touch himself. He was solely focusing on pleasuring Grimmjow the entire time.

He pulled back breaking the heated kiss, and leaned forward to lay him down. He completely pulled his own underwear off, and wasted no time in tugging off Ichigo's. He knew Ichigo's body wasn't at a hundred percent, so he got off the bed and lowered to his knees, resting his legs on his shoulders.

Without a single doubt in mind Ichigo had a very nice body, but he was far too embarrassed of it. If that was going to change, he was going to have to show Ichigo that he appreciated every aspect of his body.

He nipped down his left thigh, and carefully kissed each bruise he found, then moved to the other to do the same. Soft sounds of appreciation left as he peppered kisses down his impressively sized cock, to his balls, taint, and finally his tight pink hole. Just by watching his body react to it all and hearing him moan for more, Grimmjow was already hard again.

"I can't wait to take this sexy ass of yours." He muttered upon circling his thumb around the virgin entrance. "I'll be the first and last man to ever fuck you, I know it'll be worth the wait."

Before Ichigo could even think of a response Grimmjow flattened his tongue against his hole and lapped all the way up to the head of his leaking cock. A lascivious cry spilled from his lips which only made Grimmjow desperate to do it again. He dragged his tongue back down flickering at the entrance, until he felt it relax. His tongue slipped inside and he reached up to tug at his cock, a few breathless moans later and Ichigo's body began to stiffen.

Grimmjow slowly pulled back and let Ichigo's cock fall flat to his stomach. "Not yet, I'm not done with ya."

He reached over into the bottom drawer of his nightstand to pull out a small bottle of unopened, bubblegum flavored lube. He poured a decent amount into his palm to coat Ichigo's cock, then traced one finger down to his hole. With the mixture of his saliva with the lubricant, his index finger went in rather easy.

"Fuck, you're tight…" Grimmjow brusquely groaned.

Ichigo couldn't keep himself still, his body writhed against the bed, his fingers tangled to the sheets beneath him, and his head tilted backwards. A muffled groan hidden in his throat left him as Grimmjow moved the finger around. His other hand went back to jerk at his cock with much more ease. Ichigo's hips gave a few thrusts to meet his hand while allowing the digit inside delve much deeper. In no time at all, Grimmjow managed to slip in a second, then third finger inside to the knuckle.

His small hips met the scissoring of his fingers with each in and out stroke, and his cock had been twitching, holding back the climax that was bound to come. Grimmjow replaced his hand on Ichigo's cock with his mouth and eagerly swallowed him whole. He didn't have to move, but allowed the strawberry to fuck his throat, while quickly pumping at his own cock. He wasn't going to last long at all.

As a final trick, he rammed the three digits as deep as they could possibly go and moved them about until he found what he was looking for. The pads of his fingers hooked deep into his neglected prostate, then he quickly tugged the fingers out.

A loud, throaty, vehement groan left Ichigo as his cock filled Grimmjow's mouth with every drop of his own hot seed. Grimmjow let Ichigo's legs to the ground and stood above him, and with a growl he shot his seed out onto Ichigo's chest and abdominals. He looked down at his fatigued lover whom had been panting just as heavy as he was. He crawled over Ichigo and placed a weak kiss to his lips, as they both fully succumbed to their orgasm high.

Once the tingling all over his body subsided, Grimmjow reached into the top drawer of his nightstand to pull out a clean rag then padded to his bathroom. After getting it slightly wet he returned and Ichigo was already asleep with his legs hanging lifelessly off the bed. He laughed softly at the sight and sat down beside him and quickly cleaned him up.

After positioning Ichigo's body into the bed so he could comfortably sleep, Grimmjow pulled the blankets over his naked form. He grabbed his pack of cigarettes and headed out to his balcony in the nude, but not before turning back to look at his peacefully sleeping boyfriend.

The dangerous, unfamiliar feeling swelled in his chest and he couldn't stop himself from smiling. He had fallen so hard, and so fast for him but frankly he wasn't ashamed of it in the least. He stepped outside letting the warm breeze of the day-breaking sky hit his skin. He looked up at the robust orange atmosphere, and was instantly reminded of Ichigo's hair. The thought made him grin like an idiot, as he lit the cigarette that hung from his lips.

_You fuckin' sap. _

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

Punching the annoying sound of his alarm off, Grimmjow sat up from his bed and rubbed his eyes. He looked to the empty spot next to him to see that Ichigo wasn't there. He could have easily gone for a quick, 'good morning' blowjob, but it wasn't necessary. Last night was definitely more than enough.

After a quick shower he fixed his hair and got dressed. He tossed on a white linen button up with the sleeves rolled up his forearm, tucked into a pair of slim fitted gray slacks and black square toed dress shoes. With a silk striped gray and dark crimson tie, a genuine black leather belt and his favorite platinum Rolex he grabbed his essential items and headed downstairs.

With his iPad in hand, he took a quick glance at his steadily rising stocks, then went to check his appointments for the day. Ichigo already rescheduled his meetings for the day, put in the appointment at the rehab facility, and sent him a quarterly report of the meeting minutes. He did it all, and it wasn't even eight o'clock yet.

The intoxicating smell of fresh coffee and breakfast guided him to the kitchen, where he found his boyfriend cooking with his housekeeper sitting at the bar.

_Shouldn't this be the other way around?_

"Ahem." Grimmjow audibly cleared his throat, catching the attention of them both.

"Good morning, Sir." Both of them exclaimed, one after the other.

"Good morning. Nelliel, care to explain why my secretary is cooking and you're just sitting there?"

"Your _boyfriend_ said he wanted to cook, so I drove to the market to pick up everything he needed."

Ignoring the developing irritation with her tone of voice and the use of that dreaded word, he looked over at Ichigo. The orangette had turned his attention back to the stove where he continued to cook without a second glance back.

If anyone else would have done that Grimmjow would've felt disrespected, but he honestly didn't mind it at all.

He walked over to the bar and went to look at the headline news on his iPad. Nothing too interesting was happening in Japan, but once again the U.S. was in turmoil.

_As usual. _

When he sat his device down and gave Nelliel a dismissive jerk of his head. She respectively took the hint and left the kitchen without another word. When he looked up Ichigo was in front of him while preparing his coffee.

"Here you go Sir."

"Thanks."

"No problem. I wanted to wait until you finished your breakfast to let you know, but your publicist called." Ichigo walked back to the stove and started making Grimmjow's meal.

"Harribel? What could it be this time?"

"Remember that article you were interviewed for?" He sat his meal down in front of him then grabbed his own mug of tea to sip from it. "Top Ten Bachelors Under Thirty?"

Grimmjow took a spoonful of his steaming Miso soup into his mouth and hummed in affirmation. "Mhm."

_Damn that was hot!_

"Well, they want to do a photoshoot with you all. I got with your fashion consultant and he said they wanted to do something a little… racy."

He grabbed his chopsticks and gave them a few test clicks just because. "Hm, how racy?"

"I didn't make that call Sir. Mr. Aporro-Granz just said to meet with him when you can to discuss the finer details." He leaned back against the countertop swirling the remains of his tea around.

_Oh great. Szayel._

"Anything else that can't wait?" Grimmjow tilted his head slightly, then took a mouthful of rice and fish in.

"I just got a phone call from Mr. Kuchiki, he noted that I scheduled an appointment to see Rukia. He wants to meet with you there, apparently its high priority."

"A meeting while visiting his sick sister? What the hell is up with his priorities?"

Ichigo shrugged, and popped a pickled plum into his mouth with a grimace.

_Speaking of which… _

"Have ya eaten today?"

Ichigo stared down at his hands with a guilty look, his answer obvious.

"Let me rephrase that, why haven't ya eaten?"

"I've been busy all morning, I haven't really had time to just sit down and eat. Besides, I'm not very hungry."

"We agreed, three square meals a day. Ya work hard, I can't have ya passing out on me because you're outta energy. Sit down and eat with me." His tone was assertive, but still laced with compassion.

"Yes, Sir." Ichigo gave him a weak smile, then prepared his own meal and sat down next to Grimmjow at the bar.

Grimmjow was pleased to see Ichigo served himself a decent helping of food, and he felt even better once he began eating. They ate in silence, only the sounds of their utensils hitting their plates and bowls, with mugs hitting the table were heard.

Once their plates were cleared he looked over at Ichigo who had a bit of rice at the corner of his mouth. With a chuckle he brought his thumb to the corner and swiped the rice into his mouth; Ichigo took it as an opportunity to suck on the digit briefly before it slowly pulled from his lips. He looked up at Grimmjow with his cheeks a dirty crimson.

_Damn, kid. _

"Can we talk about last night?" He chewed at the corner of his lip where Grimmjow's thumb was.

"Not here and not now. I'm already very tempted." His eyes were on Ichigo's lips, he was teasing him. Testing him once again.

"What are you tempted to do?"

"Right now, spank ya until your ass is as pink as your cheeks, then toss ya on this bar and fuck ya until ya can't even stand."

His maroon orbs widened and the blush he held only darkened. "Who says you can't?" Ichigo looked up at him with his hand flattened out on his thigh.

_Breathe Grimmjow, think with your head not with your cock. _

"There will be plenty of time for that later on. I've got to head to the office to take care of a couple things."

Ichigo looked rather disappointed. "Alright. I'll be in a little later if I can't finish my work in the office here."

"Great. I'll be home in a few hours for lunch, then we can go to the rehabilitation facility. Have Nelliel prepare something light, this morning's breakfast was very filling." He smiled at his strawberry.

Ichigo smiled in return and nodded his head, "You definitely earned it."

"Damn right I did." Grimmjow chuckled lightly. He got up from the bar and leaned in to press a soft kiss to Ichigo's forehead, "Have Shawlong meet me around front. I'll hit ya on the company instant messenger later. Be online."

"Yes, Sir." Ichigo closed his eyes, the smile on his face widening to bare his teeth.

He walked back to his home office grabbing his messenger bag filled with important documents, a few flash drives, and his laptop. Afterwards he walked out the front door to meet Shawlong whom was smoking outside the car.

"Good morning Shaw."

"Good morning, Mr. Jaegerjaques."

"How's your son?"

"Di Roy is doing great, thank you." The older man gave a polite smile. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Just stand-by for Mr. Kurosaki, other than that you're good. I'll drive myself to HQ."

"Very well, sir." He handed Grimmjow the keys to the car.

Shawlong headed back inside and Grimmjow stepped into his car. Things were starting well for the day, he hoped they would stay that way.

* * *

About an hour after Grimmjow left, Ichigo realized he had finished a lot of his work for the day. A break was definitely in order. He got out of Grimmjow's home office and just walked around his rather large suite.

Nelliel finished up their lunch for the day, then left to run a few errands shortly after Grimmjow left. Shawlong was no where to be found, but then again that wasn't really new. Usually whenever Rukia left him home alone, he would just clean, go shopping for supplies or maintain the condominium to keep himself busy. It was strange knowing he didn't have to do that anymore. He didn't really know what to do with himself, so he decided to just explore his new home since Grimmjow didn't really give him a full tour.

Ichigo had seen most of the apartment, but he never once took the elevator that was literally across from Grimmjow's front door. He walked over to it, pressed the 'up' button, and when it came he stepped in. From the looks of it Grimmjow owned five entire floors of the apartment building.

There were three extra floors going up, and only two going down in which they were all labeled accordingly. The current floor was 'HOME', the next floor was 'ENTERTAINMENT', the one after that was 'STAFF', and the highest one was 'GYM'. The bottom floors were labeled, 'PRIVATE' and the final floor was 'SUBBASEMENT/GARAGE'.

Ichigo's curiosity was definitely piqued once he saw that Grimmjow had an entire floor just for his private use.

What in the hell could he be doing that was so private?

Instead of pressing that button and getting in trouble for it later on, he hit the one that led to the gym and stepped in. Once the doors closed in front of him and rode him up, he leaned back against the wall and looked up. That private room was definitely going to bother him, he was going to have to bring it up to Grimmjow.

The elevator gave a quiet _'ding' _indicating the destination had been reached. When the doors opened Ichigo laughed briefly in sheer amazement; Grimmjow had that entire floor renovated to resemble a very high class gym. As Ichigo walked around he noticed that almost everything he could want in a gym was on this floor. A weight room, cardio room, yoga room, ballroom, basketball court, tennis court, indoor pool, steam room, boxing gym, dojo, locker room, and a small kitchen stocked with various snacks, drinks and supplements.

_No wonder he stays so fit. _

He walked into the dojo and took interest at the assortment of weapons that were lined up. Being in a place like this reminded him of when he used to do Kendo as a kid, and Tae Kwon Doe growing up. They were good memories, but had bad connotations associated with them. It was time to release a little bit of that pent up frustration associated with this. He couldn't let himself hold on to bad things things he hurt him in the past.

After changing into nothing but a pair of Gi bottoms with a black sash, he wrapped his hands up in gauze. Since he didn't have a sparring partner, he just decided to shadowbox.

Ichigo gave a respectful bow with both hands pinned to his sides, then readied his stance. His legs stood shoulder length apart, his left arm was parallel to the floor, and his right arm at a forty-five degree angle with each of his hands flat. His mind focused in on the negativity that dragged him down and he let his battle shout escape from deep down.

He was a little rusty when it came to knowing his combinations, but then again it was all muscle memory.

Each of the motions flowed through him as if he were truly in battle. He ducked, weaved, and dodged incoming attacks and counter with lighting quick kicks, chops, and punches. His heart hammered in his chest, and sweat covered his tired form as he continued the outward conflict with his own shadow.

He could feel the pain arising in his lower back and legs, but that only provided fuel to his attacks.

He wasn't defenseless or weak, and somehow Rukia managed to convince him other wise. Realizing that only made him angrier. His finishing move was sharp, open palm strike directed at the imaginary enemy's sternum. He stood still for a moment to catch his breath, then his arms went back to his sides. He gave another respectful bow and stood up straight to leave the dojo.

After the intense shadowboxing session, he felt an unfamiliar sense of pride in himself. It was nice.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

Clad only in underwear after a quick shower with no clue what he could possibly wear, Ichigo decided to open up his laptop in his bed and talk to Grimmjow. He sat down Indian-style then started up the company's instant messenger, grinning when he saw Grimmjow had already sent him something.

_Jaegerjaques, Grimmjow. Chief Executive Officer. (Available)_

_**-Good morning Mr. Kurosaki. ****(****0805****)**_

_**-I must say that I'm rather impressed with everything you put together this morning. ****(****0807****)**_

_Oh fuck. He sent this like an hour ago. **  
**_

_-Good morning, Sir I'm glad you enjoyed everything. I do nothing, but the best for you. (0912)_

_-I got a little busier than expected once you left. (0912)_

_**\- That's great, because I expect nothing but the best from you. (0913)**_

_**-I figured you had gotten a little too busy for me. (0913)**_

_**-It's okay I understand :( … LoL. (0914)**_

Ichigo rolled his eyes with a soft laugh.

_-Don't tell me you miss me already? (0914)_

_-Mr. Jaegerjaques you always keep me busy, what free time do I ever have? LoL. (0915)_

_**-Hmm… in a lack of better words you're right. (****0915)**_

_**-****Don't get a swelled head kid. (0915)**_

_**-I****'ll gladly****call you into my office****and ****give**** you a little lesson in humility.**** (****0916)**_

Ichigo read the words over and over again just to make sure he read them correctly; he didn't just say that. The conversations were logged for security purposes, but Grimmjow truly gave no fucks.

_-You wouldn't dare. (0918)_

_**-Try me. (****0918)**_

_-I'll yell. (0918)_

_**-Ties make amazing gags and even better restraints. Do you really want to play this game? (0919)**_

_If he gives no fucks why should I?_

_-I played it rather well last night, don't you think? (0919)_

_-I mean I tried you... and I got you. Twice. (0920)_

Ichigo grinned at his rather clever response, then crossed his arms upon awaiting Grimmjow's response. The thing about an instant messenger was responses were supposed to be _instant_; it was a little over five minutes and Grimmjow still hadn't said anything. As Ichigo began to type out another message FaceTime started ringing; Grimmjow was calling him.

_Oh fuck._

He knew better than to ignore any type of call from Grimmjow so after ruffling his hair a bit, he answered.

In a few seconds of the call connecting, Grimmjow's face was on his screen. His crystalline blue eyes widened as if he were surprised, and a grin plastered to his face.

"Are you naked?"

"No, I'm wearing your underwear." He flashed a smirk in return.

"Wearing my underwear and getting bold over the keyboard. It's like you're askin' to get punished."

"Who's to say I don't want to be punished?"

"Really now?" He chuckled upon straightening out his tie.

Ichigo looked away from the camera for just a moment in an attempt to not blush. "Anyway… where are you? It doesn't look like you're in the office."

"I'm just outside. I was in the middle of a conference when ya messaged me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Is it going well?"

"To be honest, I'm bored out of my mind. I was pretty happy to hear from ya."

He gave a youthful, charming smile and leaned his head back against the wall he was pressed against.

Ichigo smiled, the longing to run his fingers through his cornflower blue locks as they talked distracting him.

"I'm sorry you're so bored. Guess the world of stocks and mergers isn't too exciting after all huh?"

"Nah, not in the least. Frankly I'm more interested in what ya been doin' that requires ya to be in my underwear."

"Oh. I took the elevator and went up to the gym to work out a little bit. I actually just got out of the shower."

"Have a good workout?"

"Yes, Sir. I released a lot of steam. I think I'll start working out regularly again."

"I'd like that. I can even refer ya to a good personal trainer."

"Sure. As long as I get to spar with you in that dojo every once and a while."

"Another opportunity to get you on your back? Fuck yeah, I'm down."

Grimmjow laughed, which triggered Ichigo to laugh as well. He rolled his brown eyes and shook his head at the immature innuendo. There was a brief silence where Grimmjow just looked at him with a toothy grin and Ichigo couldn't figure out why he was doing it.

"What?"

He shook his head, the grin still etched on his face. "Nothin'."

"You're so weird sometimes."

"Weird doesn't begin to cover it Strawberry."

Grimmjow looked down at his watch and sighed heavily, "I gotta head back in, I told them I would return in five minutes. It's coming up on fifteen."

_Where did the time go?_

"Alright. But, before you go. What should I wear today?"

"Do conservative, but sexy, show a little skin."

Ichigo was still extremely self conscious about his various scars and bruises, but admittedly he was getting tired of completely covering up.

"Thank you, Mr. Jaegerjaques."

"I told ya, when you're not at work call me Grimmjow. I like hearing it from ya."

Ichigo looked down at his dimly lit keyboard and smiled, then he looked up at him once more. "Thank you, Grimmjow."

"Much better. Now go get dressed, I'll be back in a little bit. We can eat then head out."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

"Indeed ya will Ichigo." He winked his left eye and with his infamous half-smirk he ended the call.

"Ugh."

Ichigo groaned in contentment and fell back to lay down on the bed. Something strange bubbled in his chest and he just couldn't stop smiling. He didn't know if he was truly falling for him or if he was just eternally grateful for everything Grimmjow was doing for him. That would be a great question to ask Dr. Unohana this weekend.

Right now he was on a mission to find something conservative, yet sexy while making sure he still felt secure. It was a good thing he spent so much time in the closet, it just meant he could dress a whole lot better.

Regardless of how brief their conversation was, Grimmjow had fully enjoyed ever second of it. The flirting, the banter they had, and even the moments of silence where he could just admire him. Everything about it just made him feel so elated.

Even when he hung up just to head back inside he could feel his cheeks starting to hurt from how much he had been smiling. No one's ever made him smile so much before, with the exception of his little sister. She was a completely different story._  
_Honestly, he wanted to head home at that very moment just so he could see Ichigo's modest smile and carnation cheeks in person.

_Pull it the fuck together. You're not some lovesick woman, you have a business to run. _

He had to get his lid on straight and separate his personal and professional personas. To the people he was having the conference with he was cut-throat, ruthless, and emotionless. In reality he truly was that type of person, but around Ichigo he just completely changed.

With a convulsive shake of his head and a couple deep breaths, he pressed back inside the room to take care of business. Grimmjow's work was always and forever his main priority, without it he was just another man on the street with a fucked up past.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

The conference had finally ended and Grimmjow couldn't have been any more excited about it. It was nothing, more than a cookie cutter briefing with his head of H&amp;R, Chief of Operations, and Senior VP of production on raising morale in the workplace, preventing sexual harassment, and blah blah blah. Once he left the conference room with his iPad in hand, he had to physically stop himself from rolling his eyes when he saw bright bubblegum pink hair waiting for him.

"You're finally out of that drab meeting. Shall we go to your office?"

"Yes, Szayel. Let's get this over with so I can go home."

"I would rush home too if I were dressed in that." The effeminate male giggled with toss of his ponytail.

"If you don't mind I brought along my friend, Yumichika Ayasegawa."

Szayel waved his arm in the direction of an average height male, with obsidian hair cut into a bob with colored plumes attached to his eyelashes.

His black dress shirt had one too many buttons undone, as Grimmjow could see the nipple piercing he had. There was a strict dress code his employees were enforced to follow, but disregarded it since he technically wasn't working for him.

Grimmjow extended a hand out to be polite and was greeted with a flirtatious gaze and limp handshake. "Please, call me Yumi." He held onto Grimmjow's fingertips a few seconds after the shake was complied with. "It's a pleasure to finally get to meet, _the_ Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. I've heard so much about you."

_Fuck off kid, I'm not interested._

"I'm sure of it. Lets make this quick, my time is valuable Szayel."

"Tsk, tsk. You're so hasty Grimmjow." The male spoke as he walked in front of Grimmjow, leading them to his office.

Grimmjow had to summon self restraint into every one of his nerves to prevent himself from grabbing his consultant's ponytail and smashing his head through a wall. The only reason he hadn't fired the man was because he was truly brilliant and he damn well knew it. Not to mention he was an excellent wingman, he often brought the most gorgeous men to Grimmjow just to use at his disposal. He was the one who introduced him to Luppi.

_And look how that turned out… _

Yumichika walked alongside Grimmjow as if they were holding hands. He could feel his eyes burning holes at him, so he glanced over slowly to give him a non-verbal warning. He instantly backed down and snapped his eyes straight ahead.

_You got nothin' on Ichigo. _

Szayel opened the door letting the two men enter, then closed the door behind him as he was the last to step inside. "I'm assuming Ichigo already gave you the low-down on what's going on?"

Grimmjow opted to stand and smoke while the two other gentlemen took their seats on the couch. Yumichika pulled the laptop from the carrying case he had across his body and opened it up.

"Yeah, apparently I'm doin' some kinda amateur porn shoot for this magazine?" He spoke with a lungful of smoke, then quickly expelled it.

Yumichika chuckled at the crude language without looking up from his laptop.

"Sort of but not really. Initially they wanted to do an entire page of you practically nude, I talked them down to you in a pair of pants with a model."

"Do I get to keep 'em?" Grimmjow asked with an annoyed scoff.

"The model?" Yumichika asked, causing both Szayel and Grimmjow to give him a hard stare.

"Look, they were lucky to get me to tell 'em I'm gay. I'd rather show a little ass, than pose with some pretty boy that only wants my dick and my money."

"Since when?" Szayel snickered. "Grimmjow think about this. Not only is this a great opportunity for you to meet another guy, but it'll look _great_ in the papers which will bring in more commerce for your business."

"Care to explain Pinky?"

"Stop calling me that asshole!" He snapped then took a deep breath and adjusted himself in his seat. "If you play it correctly, you can snap a few photos with the model. Be seen in public with him a few times and BOOM you suddenly have a fan base. With that fan base, you'll have more people investing in your business, more customers, endorsements, etcetera!"

"I'm trackin'." The blunet spoke with a grin as he sparked up another cigarette.

"It'll do wonders for your image _and _your business."

"Who is the model I'm gonna be posin' with?" Grimmjow leaned back against his desk with one ankle crossed over the other.

"That's where I come in." Yumichika spoke with a certain flair to his voice.

"You?!"

The brunette gave a slightly offended look and shook his head. "Gee, thanks."

"No, _baka_ he's a modeling agent. I brought him to show you a few of his clients, so you could find a potential partner."  
He gave a docile smile to the pissed off agent and turned his attention toward him, "Alright, whaddya got for me Yumi."

"Well, I was thinking we could do a size comparison. Play to the audience's knowledge that you're this wealthy, powerful man. I have a few models that are just barely legal, so they would fit the role perfect."

"Scrap it. I'm not posin' with jailbait."

"Okay… what about we try someone of your nationality? Another German or a Frenchman?"

"No and no. I'm in Japan, shouldn't we be playing to someone who's Japanese? You know provide some realism for my audience?"

"I suppose you're right."

"Of course I'm right, it's my image you're toyin' with here."

"Alright fine. Japanese, early/mid-twenties, what kind of body type?"

"I don't care."

"Height?"

"It's up to you."

"Bone structure?"

"Does that really matter?"

"If it didn't I wouldn't be asking." He asked with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

Grimmjow could feel himself being the slightest bit petulant about the matter, but only because he knew Ichigo wasn't going to like this idea whatsoever. However this wasn't about him it was all business, none of it was personal.

_Wait a sec…_

"Yumi, thank you for your services, but I don't need them. You're free to go." Grimmjow spoke with a polite nod, dismissing the man from his office. Yumichika calmly packed up his laptop, stood up from the couch and left the office muttering a few words in Japanese under his voice.

Szayel got up from the couch in a hurry and was practically steaming. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you know how hard it was for me to get connections with him?!"

"Szayel, calm down. I know who I can pose with and it'll easily get me just as much publicity."

The consultant took out the pack of thin cigarettes from his sand colored satchel and put one to his lips. He quickly lit it and took a deep puff from it with his other hand motioning for Grimmjow to get on with it.

"Ichigo. I could pose with him!"

Szayel exhaled the smoke from his nose and shook his head. "I knew something changed about you. You're fucking him." He snickered, then took another puff of his cigarette. "Grimmjow, do you realize how bad that would look not just in the public eye, but also within your staff?"

"That is beside the point and I don't pay you enough to know all that. 'Sides, we don't hafta be half naked or anything."

"Um… alright. How about you guys take a few pictures in some casual clothes in a relaxed setting?"

"Care to explain?"

"It'll give your audience the image of you being more down to earth compared to being all high-strung and all about business. Give them the idea that even though you are wealthy and powerful, you make time to do normal things and care about your employees in a deeper sense."

"That's superb Szayel. I love it."

The pink-haired man ran his fingers through his ponytail with a haughty sigh. "I know it is. The only thing is we aren't playing off your sex appeal or the gay card; that's primarily what the article is about. Is that alright?"

"Fuck yeah it is. You know I'm not for one having my business out there."

"Alright then, I'll meet with Harribel and Ichigo later through the week to discuss the details. If you'll excuse me I have to go clean up this mess with Yumichika _and _call the editor of the magazine to brief them on this new idea and hopefully she can tweak the article to suit _your_ needs."

"It's what I pay ya to do Pinky." Grimmjow smirked.

Szayel left his office with a slam of his door after the second remark at his hair, eliciting a burst of laughter from Grimmjow. Pissing people off was an amazing trick of his.

After really thinking about it, the hardest part about all of it would have to be convincing Ichigo to go along with it all. This was something he would have to bring up another time. If he was smart about it, he would have to do it right after Ichigo's session with Dr. Unohana. He always seemed to be more open to things when he finished speaking to her.

* * *

Ichigo stood in the mirror just staring at himself and sighed; he was dressed fine, but it still didn't help his overthinking. The weather cooled down, but it was still a bit warm out. He wore a short sleeve, linen denim button up, charcoal slim-fit jeans, and black combat boots. Covering his orange spikes a wide gray flat brim fedora, with a silk, matte black band in the middle.

_Is__ this conservative enough?_

_Is it sexy?_

_Would Rukia be mad that she could see __so much__? _

_What if people would stare at __my __scars __and bruises?_

_Could the hat be doing too much? _

It was the fifth outfit he had changed into and he was contemplating changing for the sixth time into something else. Grimmjow sent his fashion consultant out shopping for Ichigo and got the orangette a completely new wardrobe. They were all suited to his selective taste right down to the color pattern, but most of the time he could never find anything to wear. There was always something in the back of his mind telling him he didn't look right. Whether it be he was too skinny, too tall, it didn't go with his hair color, or it showed too much of his damaged skin. All in all, he was still very insecure about his image with no exception of what he was wearing.

"Hey." Grimmjow spoke from the doorway.

Ichigo nearly jumped ten feet in the air when the man snuck up on him while he was looking at himself in the mirror.

_How is that even possible?_

He decided to play it off as if Grimmjow hadn't even disturbed him. "Hi."

The man strode from across the room to embrace him from behind with a kiss to his ear. "Ya look great." He grumbled quietly into it, the beard he donned grazing against his neck.

Ichigo leaned back into his arms and hummed at the tickling of his neck. "I dunno, there's just something I don't like about it."

"It's probably the fact that you're wearing my underwear. " He gave a throaty chuckled into his ear before kissing it once again.

Ichigo turned himself around with a roll of his eyes, then began to toy with his tie with a half-smile. "Your underwear are really comfortable."

"I know, that's why I wear 'em."

"Are you getting bold with me Mr. Jaegerjaques?" Ichigo crooked an eyebrow up.

"And if I am?" He displayed a wide grin. "Are ya gonna punish me?"

"I just might. I hear these ties are quite resourceful." He gave a slight tug of the accessory and smirked.

Grimmjow laughed as he was tugged down, "You have no idea." He took the opportunity to press his soft lips to Ichigo's for just a moment.

The strange warmth in his chest soon returned as he felt Grimmjow's lips to his own. Once the kiss broke he looked up at him with his eyebrows furrowed up on his forehead. "Do I really look okay?"

"I think ya look stunning _mon cherie_; I'm never disappointed with your constant _élégance." _He pressed another kiss to his lips then coiled his arms around him in an embrace. "However, it shouldn't matter what I think or what anyone else thinks either, as long as you like it. That's all that should count."

"I don't know what to say." Ichigo hid his burning face in the crook of Grimmjow's neck, his arms hooking around his broad torso.

"Ya don't have to say anything. But, ya have to stop this condescending self-talk about yourself and accept the fact that you're a _king_ amongst horses, not vermin amongst humans."

It was easier to believe the insults as they flew at them and let them truly internalize and shape his entire view of himself. Yet it was difficult to accept something so positive from people that cared for him. He didn't really understand why he felt that way, but it wasn't doing him any good.

Ichigo wasn't the same man he was months ago he was stronger. He had to fight to get to where he was now, he wasn't weak or powerless. He was just vulnerable.

Ichigo wrapped his own arms around him tighter and spoke into his neck. "Don't let go. Not yet."

Grimmjow held the orangette closer letting his nose bury into the soft forest of his orange locks, capturing his scent. "I wouldn't dream of it."

It was practically magical, how Grimmjow managed to change his mindset in just a matter of seconds. He always found new ways to build Ichigo up and make him feel so special without even trying. The fact that Grimmjow was rooting for him to get better, made Ichigo want to try harder at everything. No matter how sappy it may have seemed, he wanted to be a better man for them both.

A few minutes passed of them just standing there holding each other, then Ichigo pulled back just slightly and smiled. "Lunch?"

"Please." Grimmjow smiled back upon kissing his temple.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

After they finished up the light lunch of a turkey sandwiches and lentil soup, they piled into the back of Grimmjow's Benz, with Shawlong at the wheel. During the drive both men, simply sat next to each other working. Grimmjow was on his phone speaking to his publicist and fashion consultant, while Ichigo kept his idle mind busy with the rest of the work Grimmjow had given him on his laptop. Just because Ichigo was injured and was on his way to see his ex-girlfriend, did not give him an exception to do his work. He took being Grimmjow's secretary very serious and wouldn't allow the lines to get blurred between their professional and personal relationship.

Once Grimmjow had finished his phone conversation, he placed his hand on Ichigo's knee. The orangette, brushed the hand off and continued writing the mass e-mail to the junior staff regarding, the conference Grimmjow had this morning. Grimmjow placed his hand on Ichigo's knee once again giving it a slight squeeze, and Ichigo gave a more adamant brush off.

"Sir, please."

"Ichigo look."

The blunet began pawing at Ichigo's hands as he typed in a feline like manner, Ichigo looked over at him with an annoyed scowl. Grimmjow was staring out the window of the car at two stray kittens that were playing on the side of the road.

"Shawlong stop the car." Grimmjow spoke and in an instant the car stopped.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques, no what are you doing? We're gonna be late!" Ichigo sighed.

"Those kittens can't be but a month old, and their mama isn't anywhere nearby. I'm grabbin' 'em."

Without another word Grimmjow stepped out of the car and slowly approached the small balls of fur, a soft chuckle left Ichigo as he watched Grimmjow scoop one up in his arms, while the other attempted to run away. Since it was still infantile, it couldn't run correctly let alone get too far away before Grimmjow scooped it up as well.

When he stepped back in the car, Ichigo grabbed his phone giving Grimmjow plenty of room to sit. Shawlong began driving once Grimmjow shut his door. One of the kittens had clean ash gray fur with grayish-blue eyes, and the other was jet black with emerald green eyes. They were both crying to Grimmjow, as he combed his fingers through their fur.

"_Où avez votre maman partir?" _He spoke to them quietly in his normal tone of voice, then began scolding the gray one with a laugh as she began to climb up to his shoulder. The darker of the two kittens stood up in his lap with his front paws hesitantly attacking his tie.

Ichigo covertly snapped a picture of him playing with they young kittens using Grimmjow's phone. It was quite literally was one of the cutest things he had ever seen in his life; he wasn't even aware Grimmjow liked animals, let alone cats.

"Are you gonna keep them?" Ichigo asked with a mirthful smile.

The blunet looked over at him and nodded as the ash gray kitten began nuzzling her head against against Grimmjow's stubbly cheek.

"Looks like I don't have much of a choice here."

The charcoal furred kitten padded over to Ichigo's laptop and curled up on his keyboard. With the deathly stare Grimmjow was giving him he knew better than to wake the napping feline.

With their little field trip aside, they had made it to the rehabilitation facility a few minutes later than they were supposed to. He carefully sat his computer between them both, then unbuckled his seatbelt as the car stopped and Shawlong set it in park.

Grimmjow sat the sleeping feline that now laid in his lap next to his sister, then stepped out of his side of the car. He walked over to Ichigo's side, and quietly opened his door. Ichigo stepped out and cautiously shut his door.

"I'll meet ya inside, I gotta to speak with Shawlong."

Ichigo nodded his head and began walking toward the building. He stopped when his forearm was grasped and turned back with his eyebrow arched up.

Grimmjow opened his mouth to say something, but just kept his eyes locked on Ichigo's instead. Ichigo gazed into the myriad of ultramarine and felt goosebumps prickle at his skin. His breathing got heavier, with tingles crawling up his spine. When he let his arm go, a half-smirk curved at his lips and Ichigo hesitantly stepped back.

He felt beguiled, enticed, charmed, by just a simple look. He didn't even have to say anything, and Ichigo knew exactly what he wanted. In ways Ichigo felt as if he was a marionette and Grimmjow was controlling with the strings. He wasn't being controlled to the extent of his previous relationship, but it was in a good way. Grimmjow wanted Ichigo to calm down and walk inside of the building with a clear mind. That's exactly what he was going to do.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

A few steps into the building and he already knew Grimmjow invested a lot of money into Rukia's well-being. It was a beautiful and serene facility that looked a lot like an upscale home; he did a brief walk around to see if he could find a place to sign in. There were people gathered around watching television, playing pool, a few people cooking and some of them just standing off to the side conversing. To imagine this many people in Japan had a problem with addiction was a bit of a shock to Ichigo, but he held no judgement in his heart for any of them.

After a few minutes of wandering around he was astounded at how large the facility was and at the fact that he hadn't seen Rukia anywhere. He peered out the window to see a very lush garden and smiled, but once he felt a hand firmly grip his shoulder he tensed up and quickly whipped around.

"You lost buddy?" A tattooed, russet haired man spoke to him with a scowl.

His primary instincts told him to act defensive and timidly, but he Grimmjow had taught him better than that. He squared his shoulders and looked the russet haired man in the eyes.

"Slightly, I was looking for a place to sign in. I'm here to visit a patient. Is there someone nearby that can help me?"

His face softened and he dropped his hand from Ichigo's shoulder. "Gotcha. I work here as a matter of fact. You must be Ichigo."

An orange eyebrow crooked up in bewilderment. "Yeah? How did you…"

"Rukia talks about you a lot. She's actually out in the garden right now, follow me."

Ichigo respectfully nodded and followed the man out to the lush fields of various flowers, vegetables, fruits, trees and bushes. As they delved deeper, they came upon a few cherry blossom trees, Rukia was sitting against the trunk of one with a book in her hand.

He hardly even recognized her at first. Her obsidian bob was cut shorter, her skin had a healthier glow, and she even dressed different. She wore a short yellow sundress with a brown belt wrapped around her waist, a sleeveless bleached denim cardigan, and knee high brown leather boots and white lace socks that covered her knees. She looked absolutely stunning and for a second Ichigo was completely lovestruck again. He hadn't seen her like this since they had first met.

"Rukia." The man spoke in attempt to dispel her from her novel.

"One second Renji, I'm at a really good part." She softly spoke back at him without looking up.

"Someone's here to see you, _baka._ Don't be rude."

She rolled her lively plum eyes and looked up from her book, to look at Ichigo. The annoyed look on her face faltered and tears immediately began to water her eyes. Renji walked away from the melodramatic scene with a heavy sigh.

"Oh my god." She jumped up from the ground and ran towards Ichigo, and jumped into his arms. "Ichigo!"

The orangette caught the woman in his arms and let everything hit him at once. Tears began to form in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her, and capturing her sweet scent of cherry blossoms.

She buried her face into his neck eliciting a soft sob as her arms tightened around him. "You're okay! I-I thought…"

"No baby, I'm fine." He swallowed back the emotion that built up in his throat.

She sniffled and brought her head up to stare him in the eyes, a wide toothy smile to her pink, glossy lips.

"I was so worried about you."

"I should be the least of your worries, you should be focusing on getting better. You…you look great. Really great."

She blushed an adorable carnation pink, and wiped her eyes with a soft giggle. "You don't look to bad yourself handsome. I guess, being with Grimmjow really did you more good."

It was his turn to blush that time as he sat her back down to her feet. "You know?"

"I knew from the first day you met him that you felt something for him. I was kinda anticipating you leaving me for him."

"Rukia… it wasn't like that."

"I know, Ichi. It's just that, whenever you would come home with this look in your eyes and a smile on your face whenever you talked about your day with him I just knew. It used to always make me sorta jealous, but now I'm truly happy for you."

Ichigo lowered his face to stare at his feet, now he felt terrible. Rukia softly gripped his chin to tilt his gaze up at her again.

"I still love you so much Ichigo, I always have. You are my first love and there will always be a place in my heart for you. I'll admit finding out that you were falling for someone else, took a toll on me, but as it turns out it was the best thing that could've happened for us both."

"I just want you to be happy Rukia. I did this all for you."

"I want you to be happy too Ichigo." She wrapped her small arms around Ichigo's torso and nuzzled her head into his chest. "Even if it isn't with me."

Ichigo wrapped both his arms around her once again and let a few tears roll down his cheeks. Words didn't describe the unbridled pride he had for Rukia let alone how much love he had for the woman. He was glad to see that she was already doing so much better and was slowly reverting back to how she was before she began using.

"I'm sorry for everything Ichigo. I never meant to hurt you the way I did."

"I never held it against you. I always had forgiveness in my heart for you."

It seemed like an eternity passed as he held his ex-love in his arms, and for once in a very long time everything just felt right between them. When she pulled away from him and took a few steps back he just looked at her.

"What?" She tilted her head slightly.

"I just can't get over how beautiful you look."

She smirked with a playful toss of her eyes. "I don't think Renji would take well to you trying to flirt with me Mr. Kurosaki."

Ichigo's jaw dropped and his mouth gaped open. "You and that tattooed freak?! Really?!"

"Goodness Ichigo what kind of woman do you take me for? He's just a really old friend from when Hisana and I were in the orphanage. That happens to sometimes sleep in my room occasionally."

A hearty laugh bellowed from him as he heard that and he shook his head. "You haven't even been here two months and you're already breaking rules?"

"I mean hey. I don't think it counts, I knew him from way back when we used to steal from the market when we were kids." She gave an amused grin and casually placed a strand of hair behind her ear.

Ichigo shook his head with a feigned disappointed look and a wiggle of his index finger. "Shame on you both."

"Oh don't even Ichigo! How's the whole fraternizing with your boss going?" She crossed her arms with a wolfish grin to her lips.

"Touché." He pursed his lips with an exaggerated nod.

"Speak of the devil, here he comes right now. I didn't even know he was here." Rukia waved him over, but ceased all movement once she saw whom was accompanying him. "Oh, no…"

Ichigo turned his head back to see both Grimmjow and Byakuya walking toward them both, each of them with a displeased expression to their faces. To be fair Byakuya always looked like that, but Grimmjow looked completely and utterly pissed.

_Was he jealous? _

"Ichigo, what is Byakuya doing here. He's not even supposed to know I'm here!"

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck, up to his ear then scratched it. "Your guess would be better than mine, Grimmjow nor I told him anything I swear of it."

She sighed softly and wrapped her arms around him to embrace him for a few seconds. "He's not going to be happy with me."

"I won't leave you Rukia, I won't let him take you from this place." Ichigo held her in return then kissed the top of her head.

"Arigato." She mumbled.

When both men showed up Byakuya was the first to speak, promptly ignoring Ichigo's presence. "Hello Rukia."

She held herself tighter against Ichigo and didn't look up from him.

Grimmjow on the other hand grabbed a strong hold of Ichigo's bicep and broke them apart.

"We're leavin'. Now."

"What, G-Grimmjow! We just got here!" Ichigo tried to jerk his arm from the mans grip, but it only got tighter. His gaze down at him darkened and his eyes narrowed, he wasn't in the mood to fight. "I promised her I wouldn't go!"

"Ichigo, it's okay. It's time I talked with Byakuya about this." Rukia went from being trepid, to having her usual cold, confident Kuchiki demeanor. "I'll see you later."

Grimmjow began walking away with Ichigo's arm in his hand, and was practically dragging him out of the garden, and into the facility once again.

"Will you tell me what's going on?!"

The blunet only huffed a response.

"Are you jealous? Seriously? Incredible Grimmjow." Ichigo spoke completely astounded, by Grimmjow's actions.

Once they made it back outside to meet Shawlong, Ichigo finally broke free of his grasp.

"Answer me Grimmjow!" Anger was laced in his tone as he tried not to raise his voice.

Grimmjow looked down at him and with an arm to his chest he shoved him so that his back was to the car.

"Stay in your fuckin' place and watch your damn tone when you're speakin' to me. I'm doin' you both a favor don't forget that."

"Okay."

As Ichigo was belittled, by the one person that built him up he could feel everything in his mind crashing. He tugged open the backseat door and slid himself inside without another word and kept his eyes glued to the floor. Moments ago Grimmjow was in a polar opposite mood; he was happy and playing with kittens, and giving him the most loving look Ichigo didn't know he had.

"Fuck!" Grimmjow yelled out and punched the car door where Ichigo was sitting. The orangette jumped and once Grimmjow swung the door open, he had a flashback of being in a similar situation with Rukia.

He yelped out of fear and ducked his head into his lap with his arms covering his head to brace himself. He should have just stayed in his place. He should have just listened. He shouldn't have misbehaved. Now he was going to pay for it.

* * *

When Ichigo initially pulled away from him and took a few steps back to head inside the facility, Grimmjow really wanted to say those three words, he knew would change everything, but he was still wary. Something was telling him to wait on it.

Instead he kept his eyes glued on Ichigo's firm ass, which was perfectly outlined in the tight jeans he wore, as he walked into the building and he grinned.

_Can he literally be any more perfect?_

He turned back to the car where Shawlong was and briefed him to call Nelliel to pick up the kittens, and take them to a veterinarian as soon as possible, and pick up what few supplies they two feline's would need. In the few minutes Nelliel had arrived, Byakuya had showed up.

Once he saw his housekeeper and personal assistant off Byakuya had stepped out of his own car with an umbrella in hand and bowed in respect.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques."

Immediately Grimmjow knew he had to do a quick swap of his personalities; fun and playful Grimmjow was dead, cold hearted CEO had made his full return.

Grimmjow bowed in return.

"Mr. Kuchiki."

"Shall we walk and talk?"

"Please, I'm sure you're anxious to see your sister."

"Actually, it's you I'm more anxious to see. I have a few _choice_ words for you and your secretary." He opened up the rice paper umbrella to block out the sun.

"Oh?" Grimmjow raised an eyebrow as they began venturing toward the building.

"I'll keep this rather short. I don't know what kind of madhouse of a company you are running where you lower yourself to bed your employees, but I think it would be in your best interest to stop."

"I beg your pardon?" Grimmjow clenched his jaw.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques, by your actions you allowed one of your employees to drive my sister to drugs and essentially besmirching the pristine Kuchiki name by coming to this rehabilitation facility."

"You do realize she was beating him right?" Grimmjow spoke strategically, as not to let his emotions show.

"Of course I did, she needed to keep the boy in line. He deserved every bit of it, up to the accident where she hit him with her car. Speaking of which, I'll be sending him an invoice to cover the damages."

_Remember what Dr. Unohana said. Count down. _

_10._

_9._

_8._

_7._

_6._

_Don't stomp that fucker's pretty skull into the curb. Ichigo would never forgive you._

_5._

_4._

_3._

_2._

_1._

_In. Out. In. Out. Deep breaths._

"I'll be more than happy to cover the costs. Is there anything else Mr. Kuchiki?"

"As a matter of fact yes." He stopped walking once they reached the window outlooking the garden, where Ichigo held Rukia up in his arms.

"Keep that boy away from my sister. If he even so much as sends her a letter, let alone comes back here while she is recovering I _will_ bring your enterprise down. I'm fully aware of your past and all your dirty little secrets no thanks to an unrequited source."

Grimmjow fucking lost it at that point, and he grabbed a hold of Byakuya's collar with both hands and angrily threw him up against the window. It took the grace of God himself, to not slam his head through the glass ending his very existence then and there.

"Don't you touch my company. You said you're fully aware of what I'm capable of, trust me I _can _kill you and get away with it."

Byakuya laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh there's no doubt in my mind you can't. You can do all it is in your power to protect your enterprise, but, if anything is to happen to me or Rukia you can say goodbye to Ichigo. You didn't think you were the only one with connections right?"

Grimmjow couldn't risk losing Ichigo again, he didn't think he could take it. He released Byakuya's collar from his grip and took another deep breath.

"Very well then."

"I'll allow them just a few more moments to speak, heavens knows it'll be the last time they'll never see each other again." The male straightened the wrinkles from his linen shirt, then brushed imaginary specks from his slacks.

Grimmjow looked out at Ichigo and his heart swelled once he saw the playful conversation he and Rukia were having. After having the short conversation with Byakuya, he realized why Rukia had gone the route she had gone when her sister died. Byakuya truly was a heartless monster.

Ichigo must have been rubbing off on him, because honestly he too had felt the need to save her. Even if she were to recover, she would be sure to relapse if Byakuya had anything to do with it.

"Onwards, lets get this over with." The brunette spoke disdainfully.

Grimmjow was livid, but had to keep his cool up until he got home. He kept silent as they walked out to the garden.

"One slip up and I'll ruin everything you have Jaegerjaques with a snap of a finger. Remember that as you break the news to Ichigo."

With that final remark from the other man Grimmjow lost it again. He needed to leave that place immediately, he couldn't even think straight. With a grip on Ichigo's arm he walked them out of the building, and for the most part he thought he kept his rather cool composure. He couldn't reply to anything Ichigo was saying without wanting to destroy everything inside the facility.

Everything was overlapping in his head, he needed to protect Rukia in order to keep Ichigo happy. He couldn't do that without keeping his company from getting destroyed. Just thinking about the fact that Byakuya was trying to blackmail him, made him angry. The fact that he was willing to sacrifice his only sister's well-being just to keep his family's name in tact made him see red. But, what made his blood absolutely boil was the fact that he threatened Ichigo's life and he couldn't do anything about it.

Once Ichigo broke free from his grip and snapped at him, the blunet had already had enough of everyone. He barked back at him and instantly felt remorse for doing it. Out of absolute frustration at himself, the situation he was in, and well mostly himself for acting so rashly he punched the door. He swung it back open and his heart broke to pieces once he heard the fear in Ichigo's voice and saw him cower beneath him.

_No. No. No… It's not supposed to be like this!_

"Ichigo..." He spoke softly, but the orangette didn't move.

Grimmjow grabbed the hat that rested on Ichigo's head, then combed his fingers through the orange spikes. He climbed into the backseat with him and scooped Ichigo's head into his chest. Ichigo wrapped his arms around Grimmjow's body tightly hugging him, but kept his face hidden.

"I'm s-sorry, Sir. I-I di-didn't mean t-to –"

He placed a soft kiss on Ichigo's lips to stop him from continuing, and was surprised once he saw brown eyes looking up at him.

"Ya didn't do anything wrong kid. Never blame yourself for any of this." He combed his fingers through his hair once more. He looked down to see the bruise he had left on Ichigo's arm, from gripping him so hard and choked up. "I'm so fuckin' sorry for everything Ichigo. I shouldn't have brought ya into this mess."

Ichigo gently grazed his palm against Grimmjow's cheek, his hand still trembling from the shock of it all. "This isn't just your mess anymore Grimmjow. I'm not sure what's going on, but we're in this together."

Grimmjow closed his eyes and kissed Ichigo's palm as it got close to his lips. With a soft chuckle at the boy's words, he looked down at him.

"Ya really mean that?"

"Yes, sir. I won't leave just because things are getting tough, if you haven't noticed I tend to try and tough things out in a relationship."

"Heh and that's probably why you went mad." Grimmjow nuzzled his scruffy cheek against Ichigo's soft, warm palm.

Ichigo stared up at him."It's crazy what you'll do for someone you're madly in love with."

"What you and her had wasn't –"

"I'm not talking about Rukia…"

Grimmjow's heart hammered in his chest as the word slipped past Ichigo's lips.

"Do you, y'know feel the same way? I mean is that okay?" The strawberry stumbled on his words, and eventually just hid his face.

"I'll put it this way. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum." Grimmjow smiled down at him.

"Wow." Ichigo revealed a silly grin, along with a profuse crimson that burned his cheeks then shook his head. "Hold on. Did you just compare me to Ophelia?"

"If it's any better, I just called myself Hamlet."

"You're not making this any better." Ichigo shook his head once again with a snicker.

"Will a simple, 'I love you', suffice?"

There was a slight pause and the mood changed instantaneously.

"Only if you truly mean it and you don't use it as a weapon over me."

"I wouldn't ever think of it."

Ichigo nodded slowly then crawled onto his lap delivering a soft kiss to his lips with arms loosely coiled around his neck. Grimmjow was surprised at his initiative, but felt all wayward emotion flush from his system once he did it. Hands trailed into his hair, slightly tugging as the fingers curled around the tresses. Grimmjow elicited a soft gasp and brought a hand underneath Ichigo's shirt, to caress his lower back. Their noses ghostly brushed against each other, before another kiss smacked at their lips and their eyes opened to gaze at one another.

"I know we're supposed to be takin' things slow, but I want to take ya home, get ya out of my underwear and make love to ya for hours." Grimmjow slowly trailed his hand down from his lower back, to slip I past the waistband of his jeans to rub his ass.

"Then will you finally tell me what's going on?" Ichigo spoke with a yielding gasp.

"I'll tell you everything." Grimmjow whispered into his ear, before marking a kiss right behind it.

The strawberry surrendered to the kiss and spoke into his neck.

"No holding back. I want all of you. I can handle it."

It would have been a lie if Grimmjow said he hadn't heard those words from just about every guy he managed to scare off. The difference was, he had faith in Ichigo and truly believed he could take it all.

* * *

_**AN:**__ God I suck at author's notes . . I don't really have much to say this time either. __I hope y'all liked it xD. Comments, criticism, and questions are always welcome and are greatly appreciated. _

_Thanks for reading,_

~Shawn.

Translations:

_Mon cherie – _My dear.

_élégance – _Handsomeness, elegance.

_Où avez votre maman partir? - _Where did your mama go?


	8. First Times

_**AN: **__Hi guys! Happy 2016 (Yeah, yeah I know it's late..) Before I begin to beg for y'all's forgiveness let me just say I moved to the U.K. just recently so finding time to buckle down hasn't been the easiest. Luckily, I went home on vacation for about a month and in that time (and the 28 hour plane ride from Istanbul), I managed to write this bad boy. If I do still have active followers for this fic, I wanna give you guys a shoutout, and just say thank you! I promise there's going to be more good things to come from this, just don't give up on me just yet! Alright, alright let me shut the f*ck up I'm rambling haha. _

_Enjoy~_

* * *

"You want anything to drink?" Grimmjow asked upon ushering him inside his apartment. Ichigo sucked in a deep breath and nodded his head. The blunet gave an encouraging pat on his butt and walked past him with a smile.

"Two glasses of wine coming up."

Ichigo definitely needed something to soothe his jittering nerves. It was the first time they were going to actually going to go 'all the way', and it made Ichigo felt like a virgin all over again. Technically in a sense he was, however thanks to a few 'educational' videos he watched by himself he had some sort of idea what to expect. That didn't mean he wasn't still nervous and very clueless as what he was going to do.

If that wasn't enough on his brain there was also the back brief Grimmjow promised to give him on well, everything. It easily could have been a number of things, but if he had to guess it probably had something to do with Rukia. Perhaps Byakuya was going to come around and become an active role in her recovery. If that were the case though, Grimmjow wouldn't have snapped on him in the parking lot.

_What the hell was that about anyway?_

He rubbed his arm scratching an imaginary itch on his tricep. There was too much going on in his head that he probably shouldn't have been thinking about at that time and Grimmjow was definitely taking his time with getting those drinks.

After removing his combat boots and sitting them in the designated spot for shoes by the door, he padded to the kitchen. He peeped in and a smile spread onto his face when he saw what Grimmjow was doing. The blunet was pouring their two glasses of wine and from the looks of it quietly speaking to himself.

_Was he nervous too?_

Ichigo crept into the kitchen to get a better understanding as to what the man was saying, but ended up tripping on his own footing. With a loud thud disturbing Grimmjow's train of thought, he turned around and speedily went to the orangette's rescue.

"You okay?" He asked with a youthful grin on his lips as he leaned down to help him up.

Ichigo didn't even fight the burning pink that colored his pale cheeks and with his aid, he stood up and brushed the nonexistent lint from his pants.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You know me, I'm just a little clumsy is all."

"A little? That's an understatement kid." He snorted upon going back to pouring their beverages.

With a roll of his eyes, Ichigo walked up behind Grimmjow and wrapped his arms around his waist. He buried his face into the enticingly soft fabric of his shirt, inhaling the delicious scent of fabric softener and his cologne. Just being so close to him made Ichigo feel so calm and at ease, even when he knew he should have been on his toes.

Grimmjow carefully turned around allowing Ichigo to keep his arms coiled around his waist, and gazed down at him. If there was one thing Ichigo could never grow weary of, it had to be Grimmjow's bright, crystalline, azure tinted eyes. As intimidating as Grimmjow was, he always managed to look at Ichigo with such warmth. He had never seen Grimmjow look at anyone with such passion in his eyes.

"What're ya thinkin' about?" Grimmjow muttered, with his cool palm gently caressing Ichigo's cheek.

"Everything." Ichigo sighed and let his face lower. If it wasn't one a thing, it was always another; his anxiety would never give him a break. Life was great right now and all he could manage to focus on was stressing all the 'what-ifs' in his head.

"Care to explain that?"

"It's been a while since I felt like this about anyone, let alone another man. You've done so much for me, been there for me even when you didn't even know me and I just don't know why. I'm giving you all I've got and now you're trusting me with everything you've got too. I guess… I just don't wanna let you down." Ichigo looked up at him as he finished speaking to scope out the male's reaction. The blunet was smiling down at him whilst shaking his head in amusement.

"Everything isn't your burden Ichigo and ya gotta understand that. Ya don't have to know all the answers and understand the ins and outs of everything. The only way you can let me down, is by completely giving up. Ya have too much to fight for to just quit, so I don't think that'll ever happen."

The orangette nodded and let the corners of his mouth curve into a smile. "Why are you so happy?"

"It's my first time getting to see and feel what true love is like. It's new to me."

Ichigo fought the blush that threatened to darken his carnation cheeks and snickered. "_Baka._ Was that your attempt at being charming?"

"Depends. Did it work? Am I still gonna get laid?" He crooked an eyebrow up with a silly half-grin.

"Let's see how this wine tastes and we'll see where it goes hm?" Ichigo leaned up to place a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Oh? Then if that's the case."

Grimmjow pressed the bottle of Cabernet to his lips and took a sip of it. Afterwards he snaked his hand from Ichigo's cheek to the back of his neck, and guided their mouths to meet.

_That was smooth._

When Ichigo felt the cool fingers wrap around the nape of his warm neck with a pair of soft lips to his own and gruff stubble grazing his cheek, he knew he was trapped under Grimmjow's spell. He pressed himself to deepen the kiss by briefly parting his lips, and groaned when he finally got a taste of the addictive man in front of him. The bittersweet taste of Cabernet tinged with Grimmjow's natural flavor, was yet another thing Ichigo could never get tired of. If anything it was his own personal aphrodisiac.

Grimmjow's hand crept down Ichigo's back, adamantly tracing his thumb down his spine sending shocks down all the way down to his toes. The orangette arched to the touch, gasping into their heated kiss, and pressed their bodies together. Ichigo managed to go from worried, to insecure, to anxious, to completely flustered, and finally to full on aroused in just a matter of a few minutes. What in the hell was he letting Grimmjow do to him?

Ichigo fisted his hands into the thin fabric of Grimmjow's shirt, as Grimmjow's hand traveled down to grope his ass. He was torn from his dreaded overthinking and was only interested in what was going on in the here and now.

He tilted his head back to give himself a chance to breathe, and Grimmjow took full advantage of the situation by peppering tender kisses up his Adam's apple. The scruff from Grimmjow's five-o'clock shadow, chafed the underside of his neck, while his soft lips sucked and nibbled his pale skin; Ichigo honestly couldn't keep quiet. Soft whimpers elicited from him, as he was easily seduced by his lover's tongue. Having Grimmjow's skillful tongue draw circles on his neck was like a junkie having their first fix of the day.

_Alright, bad example. _

Nonetheless, it was an understatement to say that having the blunet's mouth anywhere on his body felt like having a thousand mini-orgasms at once. All the heat had rushed to Ichigo's groin and it was nearly painful how hard he had become. He didn't care how or where they were going to make love, he was ready for it all. He couldn't wait to have Grimmjow buried inside him a second longer.

He brought his hands to flatten on Grimmjow's chest and slowly he let them drape all the way down to his belt. With a tug to get the blunet's attention, he unfastened it and slowly sunk down to his knees. Grimmjow beamed down at him with his bottom lip tucked between his teeth; there was no need to ask permission. Ichigo was going to get what was his, it was his turn to play with fire.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

Much to his surprise he was pretty nervous about going all the way with Ichigo, if not more nervous than he was. It was the strawberry's first time ever doing something like this with another man, this could make or break everything he worked for. Grimmjow was not a bad lover in the slightest, but he definitely had some bad tendencies when it came to getting intimate. Primarily it was the fact that he had never once made love to another person before. Sex was his weapon, it was his strong suit, it was his means to get everything he wanted and more.

He didn't want their first time to be like that. Hell he didn't want Ichigo's first time with another man to be like that, it wasn't fair to him. It went against everything Grimmjow believed, but he wanted everything to be special, if not perfect for Ichigo.

Once he left the foyer and made it to the kitchen to pour their glasses of wine, he muttered to himself to try and keep calm.

"Relax man" Was his new mantra, he would say that to himself over and over again until he could stop worrying so much.

When he heard a commotion behind him and saw his scattered mess of a boyfriend on the ground he changed his view of thinking. As the dominant person, he couldn't show the slightest bit of fear, or indecision. In this case maybe showing Ichigo a softer side of him would do them both some good. With that being said and done, one thing led to another, his belt was unfastened and Ichigo was on his knees staring up at him. It didn't matter if was just a few minutes, a couple hours, or even an entire day time seemed nonexistent when it came to being with Ichigo.

He grabbed the fedora that sat atop Ichigo's head sitting it beside the bottle of wine on the countertop, and brushed his fingers through soft orange tresses. The back of his right hand grazed the orangette's soft cheek, and after a thumb went to slide against his lower lip. Without even a bat of his eager amber eyes, Ichigo's lips moved apart accepting the tip of his thumb between his teeth. His tongue flattened out against his digit, with his lips loosely circling around it. Grimmjow's cock twitched in anticipation as Ichigo slowly took every bit of the digit into his mouth. Ichigo began hungry suckling at his thumb, nearly inaudible hums escaping from his throat. Ichigo's left hand went up to loosely grasp Grimmjow's wrist, while his right went down to begin unfastening his own belt. With the outline of Ichigo's fully erect cock hidden away by his underwear in sight, he grew hungry to taste his lover. He hooked his thumb onto the bottom row of Ichigo's teeth, and crooked his forefinger underneath his chin he got Ichigo to open his eyes, and silently motioned for him to stand.

Ichigo stood up with his jeans pooled around his ankles, Grimmjow reached down cupping the sizable cock and gave it a decent squeeze. His lover's lips were still apart with heavy breaths escaping, his eyes were already glazed with want and that was all Grimmjow needed. He caught his mouth in a soft kiss that grew more intense by the second. With their lips smacking and tongues in a slow tango, Grimmjow was pressed back against the countertop with Ichigo leading. Ichigo stepped backwards out of his jeans and grabbed the front of Grimmjow's shirt to have him follow. Grimmjow let his own bottoms fall to his feet before he too stepped out of them. Ichigo led them to the small table near the door, and began unbuttoning Grimmjow's shirt. With the final button undone, Ichigo slid his fingertips down Grimmjow's chest, making sure to graze his nipples with his fingertips.

The blunet softly hissed when he felt his lover's cool fingers touch his hardening nipples, then when the orangette's hands trailed down to the scar on his chest his breathing hitched. Ichigo looked up at him with a mischievous smirk, and kept a hand there. His other hand went back to Grimmjow's ass, to give him a test smack on his ass. Grimmjow knew what he was doing, and he loved that he was doing it. He grabbed Ichigo's arms and swiftly turned him around. With his hand tightly holding the back of his neck he bent Ichigo over the table. He tore Ichigo's underwear in half and grinned when the pieces of fabric fell to the ground revealing his pale ass. He gave him a rough smack, then slipped his thumb into his mouth to moisten it. Once he deemed it to be suitably wet he rammed it into his lover's tight, unexpecting hole.

"This what you want? Hn?" Grimmjow growled.

"Oh god, yes!" Ichigo moaned out, with his arms stretched out against the length of the table.

He wriggled his thumb around inside the welcoming entrance, then hooked the pad of it into his prostate once he found it. Ichigo clawed at the table with a clenched growl, and tensed up at the sudden attack. Grimmjow leaned down to kiss behind his ear, before whispering into it.

"Relax. I'm not gonna hurt ya." He gently rolled his thumb against the gland repeatedly as he spoke.

"Yes, sir." He whimpered with a deep breath. Within a minute his back was arched and his hole relaxed and ready for more. Grimmjow slowly pulled the digit out, then went to his knees to do what he absolutely loved. He spread the pale cheeks apart revealing Ichigo's taut pink hole, and flattened his tongue against it. He closed his eyes and let the soft pleasured sounds of his lover guide him.

He let his tongue move in circles first to get him to fully relax, then once he felt the muscles completely loosen he slithered the digit past the tight ring. He wrapped his fingers around Ichigo's dangling cock and slowly tugged at it. He drew circles on the head of his cock, whilst using the warm sticky precum as lubricant. His tongue pulled out, and his lips began to slurp at the residue of saliva that thickly coated his entrance.

He pressed a soft kiss to Ichigo's swollen balls, before dragging his tongue up the seam and suckling at his taint. The single hand that pulled Ichigo's cheeks apart, moved to tease his hole. He tried one finger, which easily slipped in, then a second, and finally came to a stop with a third. Ichigo threw his hips back taking Grimmjow's fingers knuckle deep and mewled anxiously for more.

He didn't scissor the digits in and out, but rather let the pads stroke deep into his prostate. Ichigo laid relaxed against the table with his only support system being Grimmjow's fingers. A constant of heated, heavy breaths were the only thing that left him. Grimmjow stopped toying with the head of his cock once he felt it twitch involuntarily, then he wrapped his hand around the shaft to quickly jerk his strawberry off.

It didn't take more than a few strokes, before Ichigo's hole began to convulse around Grimmjow's fingers and a deep grunt left him. He let go of Ichigo's cock, and focused solely on his prostate as he shot load after load onto the kitchen floor. Mid shot, Grimmjow pulled his fingers from his ass, and flipped him over. He grabbed his wallet from the small dish near the door and pulled a condom from the side sleeve. He tore the foil with this teeth, and pulled his underwear down freeing his cock. He rolled the lubricated rubber over his rock-solid length, and walked in between his lover's legs. Ichigo laid back with his eyes closed, his face pink in orgasmic bliss, and his lips parted. Grimmjow caressed Ichigo's cheek prompting him to open his bright amber eyes with a smile.

"Feeling good?" Grimmjow laughed.

Ichigo nodded and hooked his legs around Grimmjow's waist making him bend over. "I want you to feel as good as I do."

"Just looking at you and knowing that you're mine makes me feel even better than that." He smiled and captured Ichigo's mouth in a soft kiss, and guided the head of his cock to press against Ichigo's hole using only his hips.

He broke the kiss and kept his forehead pressed against his lover's and spoke softly once again. "It's time for me to make _you _feel as good as I do every single day."

"Grimmj – oh fuck!" Ichigo yelled as Grimmjow sunk his cock in balls deep.

"Fuck Strawberry. Ya feel so good." Grimmjow moaned and hooked his arms around Ichigo's neck to embrace him. He tried kept still for a moment to let Ichigo adjust, but the boy began to grind his hips against him signaling he was eager for more. He didn't want the boy to be sore all day, but he honestly couldn't wait any longer.

_Sorry kid._

He withdrew his hips back and rammed back in filling him all the way up once more. He rolled his hips thrusting into him, his strokes getting harder, his cock going deeper with each drive. Ichigo's fingernails sunk into Grimmjow's back, fueling him to go even harder. He picked the boy up with his cock still buried deep inside and pressed him against the wall that was adjacent to the window.

With one hand against the wall supporting them both, and the other holding Ichigo up he decided to drive it home. He couldn't last much longer. The sounds of Ichigo crying in pleasure, his body writhing for more, and his ass eagerly taking him in was enough to make him pop. He held back and focused on lasting longer for him, so he slowed his thrusts down to focus on going deeper.

He pulled back to look at Ichigo's face as he hit him with thrust after thrust. His head was drawn back with his mouth gaped open, his face was darkened to a beautiful scarlet, with his eyes snapped closed. He took the opportunity to pepper kisses up his neck, to gather his attention and when he saw amber eyes staring back at him he gave a solid thrust to go as deep as he could possibly go and stopped. Ichigo's eyes rolled to the back of his head with his body completely arching against Grimmjow's and he shakily moaned.

"Say it to me baby." Grimmjow huskily whispered, he was on the brink of exploding but needed that final push.

"I love you." Ichigo barely choked out as his body jolted as he was on the edge of a climax himself.

"Speak up!" Grimmjow growled upon pulling his cock out and ramming back in the same position.

"Oh god! I love you Grimmjow!" Ichigo screamed out as his cock shot out strings of his silky white seed onto both their chests.

When he felt Ichigo release, it instantly triggered his own. He put all his weight on his hand that supported them against the wall, and let out a throaty groan.

"I love you Ichigo!" Once he felt his orgasm rip through his body, he shakily sighed and pressed an affectionate kiss to Ichigo's neck. "Fuck… I love ya so much Ichigo."

His sated cock fell from Ichigo's entrance, and he brought them down to the ground. He rolled over to Ichigo's side and sat up against the wall, and wrapped his arm around Ichigo's side to bring him closer.

Ichigo laid his head down on Grimmjow's chest, and looked up at him with wide eyes and a silly grin. "Your heart's racing."

"I wonder why." Grimmjow chuckled upon placing a kiss on his forehead.

Ichigo shrugged with a chuckle of his own and pressed a soft kiss over Grimmjow's heart. For a while they sat in silence soaking up each other's presence, allowing the 'high' of their orgasm's fade away. Every time Ichigo would look up at Grimmjow, they would just smile and share a kiss. With how many men Grimmjow had slept with, he had never felt so satisfied before. He wouldn't have minded if he sat on the kitchen floor all day, so long as Ichigo was in his arms. However, that just wasn't the case he was absolutely craving a good burn. It was probably a good idea to dispose of the used condom that was hanging off his sated cock before it got stuck or something.

He reached down to tug the condom off his member, tied it in a knot and stood up. Ichigo looked up at him, then made an attempt to stand up, Grimmjow shook his head. "Stay put, I'm gonna toss this, and grab my smokes." When he earned a compliant nod from him, he smiled and wandered off to the bathroom.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

As his Greek-statuesque boyfriend sauntered away, he chewed at his bottom lip with a smirk. Grimmjow had the most perfect ass and looked amazing naked. Every muscle in his body seemed to ripple and flex as he walked away. His shoulders were squared, and even from behind Ichigo could tell he sported a cocky grin on his face. The man was a walking embodiment of confidence and it was starting to rub off on him.

While sitting in the kitchen, stark naked, covered in a thin sheen of sweat with semen on his stomach he still actually felt at ease with himself. He didn't feel the need to cover up or hide himself, he felt comfortable with his body. He was ready to take on the world and knew he was fully capable of taking on any problem his lover was going to throw at him.

Grimmjow returned a few moments later with his pack of cigarettes and an ashtray in hand. He sat back down next to him resting his head in his lap. Ichigo massaged his fingers through the waves of cornflower blue locks, tilted his head back against the wall and soon the pungent smell of burning tobacco invaded his nostrils as Grimmjow began smoking. Instead of his usual dislike for the nasty habit, he grew slightly curious as to why they were so appealing.

"Can I try that?" He peered down at a crooked eyebrow Grimmjow and sheepishly smiled.

Grimmjow pressed the butt of the lit cigarette to his lips and instructed, "Just suck, hold it in, and blow."

_It's not like I haven't done all those things before… _

He took a strong drag, let the burning go past his throat to settle in his lungs, and exhaled a small stream of smoke from his mouth. He opened his mouth to talk, but began coughing the rest of the smoke out. Grimmjow laughed cordially and shook his head.

"Why the hell do you smoke those? They're awful!" He spoke with a disgusted scowl.

"It gets better over time kid." He chuckled upon taking another lungful of the smoke in.

"I don't care to find out if they do. When did you start smoking anyway?"

Grimmjow tapped the butt of his cigarette toward his ashtray to dispose of the ash and sat sighed. "I think it started when I was about fourteen maybe fifteen?"

The scowl on his face grew more intense. "You've been smoking for that long? Do you realize how much damage you've already caused to your body?"

Grimmjow chuckled and took a final drag of his cigarette before completely putting it out. "Trust me kid, my body has been through some shit, I doubt smoking these'll kill me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo crossed his arms across his chest. He had a horrible feeling about what he was about to hear.

"It's a long story that I've been meanin' to tell ya for a while. Brace yourself, it's kinda fucked."

If he was going to accept Grimmjow, he had to know as much about him as possible.

"Whatever it is Grimmjow, I won't look at you any different. I meant when I said I loved you."

The blunet chuckled dryly and shrugged. "Alright then."

He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly, signaling for the man to continue.

"I wasn't always the man I am today Ichigo. I was twelve when I figured out that I wasn't a fan of pussy. I kept it a secret from my parents because honestly I didn't even understand it. How could I have expected them to?"

Ichigo's scowl softened and sorrow set in his heart, he wouldn't have ever thought Grimmjow struggled with anything about himself. He seemed so secure in himself.

"Y'know I'm young and fuckin' confused, and it didn't help that my hair was the color of cotton candy. So when people started givin' me shit about anything, I'd smash their heads into walls. I ended up transferring schools about four different times by the time I was fourteen. The last school I ended up going to was sort of like a reform school, for troubled kids. I knew I had to break this trend or I'd end up locked up or dead. That's when I met Sosuke Aizen."

_Aizen...Why did that sound so familiar?_

"Alright..."

"Aizen was gay too, but since he was a lot older than I was he sorta understood it better I guess. He was a senior when I was a freshman, and for the longest I sorta looked up to him. He was everything I wanted to be. Smart, handsome, modest, caring, kind, popular…" The blunet stared up at the ceiling with a nostalgic grin formed to his lips.

"If he was so great, why did he get sent to the reform school?" Ichigo snapped out, admittedly he was getting slightly jealous.

"Baka, shut up I'm getting' to that." Grimmjow grinned up at him and flicked his nipple.

"Well get to it then." The orangette smiled.

"When I first met him, he told me he was there because he was sick. I mean I believed it he carried always had these pills on him and he was always coughin'. Anyway, we ended up skippin' class a couple times a week and we would go to this river underneath a bridge.

It wasn't anything too bad, just two teenagers drinkin', smokin', makin' out, even getting high sometimes. Most of the time it was just us, but usually he would meet with some shady lookin' dude and they would disappear for a while.

It was halfway through the year when Aizen just stopped coming to school. We never really went to each other's houses, so I had no way of really getting in contact with him to find out what was going on. I went to the river under the bridge everyday after school hoping I would bump into him, but nothin'.

This guy was startin' to help me change and grow up, then suddenly he just vanished."

Ichigo swallowed thickly as he saw the passion in Grimmjow's eyes as he spoke about his old friend. From the looks of it, it seemed like Aizen was perhaps his first love.

"Did he… you know?"

"Die?" Grimmjow laughed, pressed another cigarette to his lips and sparked it. "I fuckin' wish."

_Now, I'm lost._

"Please explain."

Grimmjow exhaled a cloud of smoke from his lungs and continued on.

"One day I get this note in my locker, and it says some shit like 'Meet me under the bridge at 6 P.M.'. Of course, I sneak out of the house and go to the bridge to meet up with whomever left the note. When I saw who it was, I couldn't believe it. I mean it was Aizen, but he changed within the past few months he was gone.

His glasses were gone, his hair was cut shorter and styled in a similar way I have my hair now and he was dressed in these revealing, form fitting clothes. He looked so healthy, but something had really changed about him. Y'know I'm happy to see him and I'm dying to know where the hell he had been so I'm soakin' up everything he's tellin' me. He told me he missed me and that he was taking care of a few things and didn't have to go to school anymore. Then he invited me to his place for once before I had a chance to ask anymore questions and I didn't have it in me to say no."

Grimmjow paused for a moment to finish his cigarette then put it out. Pain set in his eyes as he continued on, but he kept his composure.

"We went to his place and he let me fuck him. I lost my virginity to him; he was my first." He stopped again and sighed.

"Grimmjow you don't have to keep going if this is hard for you." Ichigo smiled and reached down to caress his cheek. The blunet gave another one of his youthful smile and shook his head.

"Towards the end of the next school year, I stopped going home. I moved in with him and that's when I got to know the real Sosuke Aizen.

What should've been a red-flag was he didn't stay with his parents. He stayed in a pretty nice apartment by himself. He was always leavin' for days on end without a word, would come back with a shit-ton of money no eighteen year old should have, and he would never tell me anything.

It took me the entire year that I lived with him to found out he was a drug dealing, prostitute. His parents sent him to that school to try to get him out of it.

At about sixteen he convinced me to do it to earn a little extra cash and to pull my weight."

"Did you want to do it?"

"Fuck no. I only did it because I wanted to be like him and I sorta needed the extra money."

"Grimmjow…you were sixteen."

"I know, don't remind me." He let out an exasperated sigh and scratched the top of his head. "I only did it for a little while before he picked up Nelliel. She was a few years younger than me when she moved in. She sorta looked up to me like a big brother y'know?"

"Is that why she calls you _Uncle?_" Ichigo asked quietly.

Grimmjow sat up and sat Indian-style across from Ichigo. His eyes were to the ground with shame on his face.

"Yeah. And Sosuke was Daddy."

Ichigo placed a hand on Grimmjow's knee, his eyes wide in absolute surprise.

"Since I wasn't escorting anymore, Aizen had me be the muscle. In a snap of a finger, I would gladly tear someone apart if that meant I got to stay with him and Nel. I grew really close to her and sorta took her under my wing. I didn't want anyone hurting her. Low and behold the fucker was beating her when I wasn't around. I didn't find out until he ended up breaking her nose, that's when I tried to take her away."

Ichigo was speechless at this point, his jaw was clenched with every muscle in his body tensed.

"That bastard was taking advantage of you both and beating her?"

"Che." He snickered solemnly. "That's not even the worst of it either. We somehow got away for a while, but we got ambushed by a couple of his thugs and she ended up going back. That's where my scar came from."

"Grimmjow..." Ichigo's voice wavered as unbridled heartache welled in his throat. "Why didn't you ask for help?"

"I couldn't go to the cops or to my parents, I gave up everything for Sosuke. The only choice I had left was to go back so I went back to the apartment to make things right, but he wasn't there. Whenever Nel had a _customer _he would leave the house and have me stay behind. The only one that was home was Nel and she was screaming for help so I go to her. I bust into the room to see some fucker with a gun trying to _attack_ her. I lost my shit and just let everything out on this guy. Nel was trying to stop me, but I couldn't hear her. I just _blacked-out_ and when I came to he was lying lifeless in his own blood. He wouldn't get up."

His eyebrows furrowed up on his forehead whilst his jaw dropped in disbelief.

"When Sosuke came back he freaked out, but to my surprise he took care of everything, got rid of the body, and said that no one ever had to know about it. He put Nel and I up in a hotel for a while as he took care of the apartment. I remember, we had just finished fuckin' and he gave me his last cigarette. He told me he was gonna go out to buy another pack, and told me and Nel to stay put. Funny thing is that was the last time I ever saw him." He looked at his knuckles with a far off gaze as his face drained of all color. "I dunno what happened to him, but I never heard from him again."

Ichigo felt his heart sink into his stomach when he heard the pain tremble in Grimmjow's strong voice. Sosuke was his first love and after everything he just left him.

"I've done awful things my entire life, that I can do penance for. But from what I understand, I ended a man's life. There's no making up for that."

"Who knows about this?" Ichigo muttered nearly breathlessly.

"You, Nel, Shawlong and…Byakuya."

Ichigo stilled once he heard the man's name roll past his lips. "Shit."

"He's blackmailing me. Says he's gonna ruin everything I worked for if you see Rukia again."

"I can't believe this. H-How did he find out about this?" Ichigo shook his head with an incredulous scoff.

"I-I dunno. Its just somehow my past always manages to catch up with me and now it's got you involved. I never wanted that to happen."

The orangette kept quiet and tried to piece together everything he just heard. It was all just so much to take in at once.

"If ya need some space or some time to process this I can find a hotel. Or if ya wanna go I completely understand that too." The blunet hid his face in his palm, his voice unusually gentle.

Ichigo moved himself closer to his lover and wrapped his arms around him. He didn't say anything, but just held his clearly broken boyfriend in his arms. Ichigo had no clue Grimmjow went through as much as he did, and still managed to stay so strong. He couldn't imagine how much all of this must have been eating away at him. Everything Grimmjow went through completely shook him, but all he wanted to do was comfort him.

After a few minutes passed Ichigo whispered. "I'm not going anywhere. We're gonna fight this Grimmjow. I'm not afraid of him."

The blunet looked up at him with wide eyes and a docile smile. "Ichigo, that's sweet, but I don't want you getting involved in this."

Ichigo shook his head, "Once he threatened to come after you and your business, he brought me into this. I was your secretary before I was your boyfriend, I won't let him destroy everything we've both worked so hard for. Byakuya isn't the only one whose willing to get his hands dirty."

"So you're tellin' me that even though I was a whore, got involved in gang, and practically killed a guy you're gonna stay with me?"

Ichigo laughed softly and shut his eyes. "We all have pasts Grimmjow. You're not the same man you were years ago and even so..." He opened his eyes and cupped his lover's chiseled, stubbly jaw within his palm. "...you managed to do some great things since then."

"Ya must be some kinda idiot, or ya really must love me or my money to just disregard everything."

"Or I'm just an idiot that loves his boss who happens to pay handsomely" Ichigo chuckled again, then pressed a kiss to his lips.

Grimmjow mirthfully snickered into the kiss, but once his amusement ceased he caught Ichigo into a second then third kiss. The last one was hungry, soul sucking, and captivating. His tongue slowly slithered into Ichigo's mouth, controlling his entire form to submit to him. That alone made Ichigo's balls tingle, and his cock to stand at attention. He crawled into his lover's lap without breaking the kiss, and felt the other man's erection brush up against his abdomen. He whimpered into his mouth and hooked his arms helplessly around his neck. Grimmjow broke the kiss and gripped the back of Ichigo's neck, with his thumb pressing toward the center. The orangette drew his head forward into Grimmjow's shoulder and shuddered into it.

"Oh, Grimmjow..."

"Tell me what ya want." Grimmjow gravelly spoke into his ear.

"I want you out of this kitchen! We have to eat in here!" A thick, exaggerated German drawl shouted from behind him. When Ichigo turned his head back, Grimmjow's teal haired housekeeper, was staring at them with an amused smirk.

Ichigo hopped out of Grimmjow's lap and grabbed his shirt in attempt to cover his exposed erection.

"Oh my goodness!" His entire body seemed to flush in absolute mortification.

"Damnit Nelliel, I thought you were going to be out for the rest of the day." Grimmjow sighed and stood up completely unashamed of his hard cock that dangled between his legs.

"Nein, the kittens have been immunized and have been given a sedative. Shawlong is on his way in with them." Her turquoise eyes peered down at Ichigo, and her smirk only grew wider. "I can stall him for a few moments."

Grimmjow laughed and walked over to Ichigo. "Don't worry about it, we'll be upstairs showering."

"I'll have some light refreshments waiting for you two. You must be _very _tired, no?" She let out a high pitched giggle and crossed her arms across her busty chest.

"This is why I haven't fired your ass yet." Grimmjow chuckled briefly then gave a playful swat to Ichigo's exposed pink ass.

The orangette yelped opting to keep his head down. He kept his shirt leveled to his crotch, and began picking up the rest of his clothes. Grimmjow caught him by surprise by picking him up and hauling him over his shoulder before he could grab his underwear.

"G-Grimmjow my underwear!"

"Fuck 'em. It's _our_ apartment, you can get 'em later."

_Our apartment… _

That was something he was going to have to get used to.

Ichigo limply rested over his lover's shoulder, with a wide smile spread on his lips. Given, his first time with Grimmjow wasn't the conventional, romance novel, candles, roses and champagne type it was still completely mesmerizing. The fact that it was so different, is what made it more authentic. None of it was planned, and in the end they both ended up so happy. Even with everything that happened in Grimmjow's past, he knew that he would never leave his side. He wouldn't trade how he felt right now for anything in the world.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo**_

After spilling the darkest parts of his soul to Ichigo, Grimmjow felt a huge weight being lifted from his shoulders. Whenever he had even managed to express his problems with his anger to his previous lovers, they either left him or used him.

It had become such a pattern that he could almost predict when it was going to happen. In a way, it was Grimmjow's first time actually displaying his true feelings. He exposed a weakness that only a few know, with absolute faith that he won't be betrayed.

Once they finally made it up the stairs and into the bedroom, Grimmjow tossed his lover into the lush, charcoal-grey, king sized bed with a chuckle. Ichigo landed on his back and playfully scowled up at him.

"You do know we have to do something about Rukia right?"

"Yeah." He replied.

"And we have to find out how your past got into Byakuya's hands."

"Yeah."

"And we still have to find a place in the apartment for those kittens."

Yeah."

"And..." Ichigo chewed into his bottom lip, and looked away from him.

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow once Ichigo trailed off, then climbed onto the soft mattress laying face down next to him. He grinned once they made eye contact, quickly figuring out why the boy stopped in his tracks. He reached his hand down to wrap his hand around Ichigo's stiffening erection.

"And it's definitely time for round two." Grimmjow said with a faint laugh.

"Yeah." Ichigo laughed as well with his head tilted back and his eyes closed.

* * *

_**AN: **__Did I win some of y'all back by that glorious smutty goodness? If not, then hopefully the sh*t-ton of fluff I added would make up for it. I'm back for now, and as always I will be doing my best to update to you all. _

_Comments, criticism, and questions are always welcome and are greatly appreciated. _

_Thanks for reading,_

~Shawn.


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